He is risen indeed!

Every other year we head north to spend Easter with my in-laws and my husband's extended family. It's not short trip. They live about 350 miles north! That's a long trip when you can only stay about 48 hours once you arrive. But it is well worth it. The kids love seeing their grandparents and spending time with their cousins . . . and you can't forget the EGG HUNT!

So this year was a traveling year. Kirby and Joe returned home about 5:30 on Thursday night from a 3-day environmental studies field trip that the 5th grade class at our school goes on every spring, and after a full evening of laundry (you don't want stinky/wet/dirty camp clothes to sit for 4 days before being laundered!) we left first thing on Friday morning. We arrived at my in-laws house Friday afternoon and after unloading our stuff and stretching our legs a bit, it was time to get ready for the Good Friday service at church. Following church, we played games and had dessert at Kirby's older sister's house with her family. Saturday brought our big extended family dinner and egg hunt (since we needed to leave right after church on Sunday to get home at a decent hour, we did our celebrating as a family on Saturday afternoon). I think there were probably 40 people at Kirby's aunts house for dinner. 2 of Kirby's 3 siblings were there with their families as were many of his aunts and uncles and cousins (as well as his cousin's kids). We are quite a group! There was lots of food, much laughter, games to play and all the kids enjoyed the egg hunt immensely (despite the mud and snow). Following the egg hunt the kids kept busy emptying their eggs, eating candy, trading candy and counting their money (eggs don't only hold candy, you know!) while the adults visited and helped facilitate fair trading among young ones before we all packed up to head out. Saturday night brought a walk to stretch our legs and get some fresh air, pizza and visiting with Grandma and Grandpa.

We went to a pancake breakfast at Kirby's sister's church on Sunday morning and then enjoyed Easter worship at their church with a good percentage of his family. We had a quick lunch at his parents house and changed out of our "church clothes" before hitting the road for the long trek home.

Finally, after LOTS of hours in the car, we arrived at our house. Unfortunately, we were locked out! My parents had come to do a project for us (new front and back steps and front sidewalk -- having a cement mason for a father comes in handy more often than you might think!) and so we left the door open for them when we took off on Friday morning. Kirb grabbed just the van keys and we hit the road. Well, my very responsible parents locked up for us when they were done on Friday. The thought that we didn't have a house key with us never crossed our minds until the moment we pulled into the driveway. Thank goodness for cell phones! I called my parents (who were still had Easter company at their house) and my dad buzzed over right away and let us in . . . saving the day (and our VERY FULL bladders) again!

The Unexpected (and certainly unintended ) Sacrifice

So, I wrote earlier about the art exhibit of the "Stations of the Cross" that our church is doing, for which I was asked to create a piece. The one about which I was nervous, anxious and stressed out. I was in the company of some real, professional artists. Ones with crazy talent. Ones that I admire, respect and certainly wouldn't ever categorize myself with, as far as art goes! It was getting close to crunch time and the piece was due in the VERY near future. I had some ideas, but nothing firm or set in stone (actually, in my case, wood). I decided not to go to church with my family for Wednesday night activities and, instead, stay home and hope that some things came together and I could get a decent start, at least, on my submission. I was assigned the first station :: The Garden of Gethsemane. I read the associated passage from Luke in a few different versions, read a few commentaries on the passage and that night in the life of Jesus, and then started working with some ideas that had come to me -- some I had been thinking about since being given the assignment a few weeks ago and some that were fresh ideas to add to what was already percolating around in my mind.

All of a sudden things started to come together. Some of the ideas I had thought would work really well for my piece I threw out the window and some new ideas emerged. I had a basic idea laid out and was ready to put all the pieces together. I was close to being done -- my work is mainly a word collage with a couple visual aspects  as well. About half the words had been glued down and I was working on the rest of them. There is the aspect of time, that although not crucial, still can't be ignored. There is a limited time to work with things, you don't want things drying too quickly. So, when I noticed a speck of lint had found its way onto my piece, I blew it off -- clearly not thinking! The words that were yet to be glued down blew away (duh!). I wanted to pick them up quickly and keep working, so instead of moving my feet closer to where the pieces had landed, I kept planted where I was and stretched to reach them from the floor.

Here is where the unexpected sacrifice came into play :: I was wearing my favorite jeans. I bought them at a consignment store (where I buy most of my clothes) so I didn't pay too much for them. But, they fit great. They were long enough (tricky when you are long-legged). They were comfy. And, they looked good! I believe most of you understand how hard "that" pair of jeans is to find! So, some combination of my twisting and bending to get the blown-away words and I'm pretty sure you can guess what happened next . . . my very favorite jeans completely split up the back! No!

I knew taking this assignment would involve sacrifice. I would need to face my insecurities and step out of my cozy comfort zone. I would need to sacrifice time and mental energy to put my piece together. I would have to sacrifice a bit of money to buy the supplies. But I certainly did not intend to sacrifice my favorite pair of jeans! Believe me, had I seen this situation coming, I promise you I would have been wearing sweat pants, or an ill-fitting pair of jeans and NOT my favorites! Big bummer.

But, in the end, I really like the way my piece turned out, and I guess it was worth the sacrifice . . . all of them. Even the jeans (although I'm still mourning my loss). If you want to come and see the whole exhibit (I'm so excited to see how it comes together) that has a visual piece and a written piece for each station of the cross, it will be on display in the sanctuary of our church starting sometime next week. If you don't know where that is, I'd be happy to tell you, although I don't believe my audience is too vast and I'm pretty sure most of you are there most Sundays anyway (Hi Mom!).

Multitude Monday (a day late)

Here's my continuing Multitude Monday post which is part of a series started years ago on Ann's wonderful, amazing blog that is a favorite of mine. If you've never checked it out, do yourself a favor and click on over. She's an amazing, gifted writer, a wonderful friend and an inspiration (not to mention a mother of 6)!

"One Thousand Gifts"::

3112. the majestic beauty of an eagle in flight
3113. pregnant bellies
3114. story time at the library
3115. a hot bath and a good book in the middle of the day (many thanks to Bob & Larry for babysitting, so I could partake in this indulgence!)
3116. morning coffee
3117. sunshine
3118. the sounds and sites of melting
3119. 14 years of Jacob
3120. 12 years of Rebekah
3121. Kingdom Undone :: powerful show
3122. kids waving palm branches and singing
3123. Joe playing basketball in the driveway :: short sleeves and mittens
3124. my cold finally being gone
3125. visit from Rachel & Amy
3126. watching a good movie with the kids
3127. sugar cookies
3128. the arrival of spring (on the calendar, anyway)
3129. art show at church
3130. the weight of a newborn in my arms
3131. hot tea before bed
3132. book club

May you realize all the blessings the Lord brings your way and take the time to make note of them. (you'll be glad that you did!)

eighteen

{typical Sara face}

Well, Sara is officially closer to 2 than she is to 1.
18 months already!
1-1/2 years.

with one of her {many} big sisters::

another classic Sara look::

Here's some stuff about Sara at 18 months::

• she talks up a storm
• her words include :: uh oh, up, Daddy, Mommy, Annie {what she calls Anna}, Ama, BopBop, Jo-Jo, a Sara-version of Lydia, baby, Sara {although it sounds like it starts with a "b"}, puppy, yeah, yes, no, out, hi, bye, hot, poopy
• she eats like MAD. we say she's a bottomless pit. she can eat more than 2 or 3 of our other kids combined and she eats just about anything you put in front of her . . . except for peas!
• she waves in such a way that you imagine she is turning a doorknob that only she can see
• she runs. and climbs. and slides. and swings
• it's a whole new ballgame now that she can reach things on the edge of the counter
• her favorite mischief, as of late, is to climb up onto the dining room table and make a huge mess of whatever is on there :: siblings homework, a deck of cards, leftover lunch {which she will promptly consume!}. she'd stay up there "playing" for hours, I imagine, if I would let her!
• it's nearly impossible to change her diaper without pinning her down -- adult legs over toddler arms . . . and if you don't hang on to her feet she'll kick you. hard. it might even leave a bruise!
• she weighs 27 pounds {85th percentile} and is almost 34 inches tall {92nd percentile}
• she wears a size 2T in most stuff . . . the hand-me-downs from nearly-4-year-old Ava no longer fit her by the time we get them {Ava's a petite little bundle!}
• her thighs aren't quite as enormous as they used to be . . . but still quite chubby and adorable
• she'd stay in the bathtub ALL day if we'd let her {unless she had the option of playing on top of the dining room table} . . . it's been so unseasonable warm this spring, that I often drain all the water and then let her keep playing in there {and since the water's gone, I can go in the kitchen and get stuff done!} until she gets cold and yells at me to get her out. she's happy. she's contained. there's no water to dump all over the floor {another favorite pastime of hers}. it buys me some time! that's a winner in my book!
• yup, "yells at me". she's a yeller! you should hear it! holy cow!
• she's also VERY opinionated . . . thus the "need" for yelling to get her point across -- and, let's be honest, to be loud enough for anyone to hear her over the ever-present noise in our house.
• she still, as a rule, doesn't sleep all night. little stinker!
• I suppose if I were ambitious I could try to potty train her, since she announces before hand that she's going to poop, then she poops, then she repeats "poopy" over and over, while holding her crotch, until we change her.
• she still far prefers her daddy to be up with her in the middle of the night
• she's quite skilled at the puppy dog eyes, tears and pouty face and can call them up at a moments notice, the instant daddy leaves the house {even if just to take out the trash}
• she's loves to be read to and to "read" books to herself too.
• she thinks she runs the place. no matter where we go. she is completely comfortable and feels she's in charge :: home, church, preschool, the library, the Y . . .
• she is a breeze to put to sleep {make sure she has a nuk, put her in her crib and shut the door} but the trade off is the 11 pm crying, but it's nothing a little snuggle and a drink won't fix {96% of the time anyway . . . we won't talk about the other 4%}

Here are a few more Sara pictures, for your viewing pleasure. You're welcome!

hunting Easter eggs with dad
{there was LOTS of competition -- 20 kids 15 and under!}

a bit of her plunder::

relaxing with grandpa {she's a Mennonite through and through, I guess, with that little head covering and holding a baby! see how proud Grandpa is?}::

enjoying some lunch on daddy's lap::

I couldn't pass up these jammies when I saw them at Costco
{on sale, even . . . or, more correctly, with a manufacturer rebate, taken off at the register}
never have truer words been printed on 2T jammies::