Birthdays x3!

Spring is a busy time for birthdays with us! I was first on March 25...

...then came Stephen (April 18), who got to have a Husker birthday and his favorite, angel food cake and strawberries...

...and Jeremiah celebrated birthday #3 on Monday! In all reality, he got to celebrate first on Daddy's birthday since Grandma and Grandpa Mo were here and they brought the train table (made by Grandpa Mo)!

And then we had another celebration on his actual birthday with Grandma and Grandpa Mac and Auntie Megan! Megan flew back from the Dominican Republic that day, but her flight was delayed, so she didn't get here until after 8:30 p.m.! Jeremiah thought is was pretty cool to be celebrating his birthday and eating cake so late at night!

And then it was time for another big present - a wagon from Grandma and Grandpa Mac! Of course, it has to be shared with Joshua, but I don't think Jeremiah minds!

It's been a fun month of birthdays but I'm ready for a break! Next up - Joshua in June!

Unfading Beauty is here!

Today is the day!

Look for highlights here this weekend or...

just come to the show!

www.unfading-beauty.com

Spring Game 2009

The annual Red-White Game is a great opportunity for us to go to a Husker game as a family! This was Joshua's first Husker game and Jeremiah's second. We like to start the Husker tradition early around here!

It was Stephen's birthday that day as well! He went to a coaches' luncheon before the game with his dad - he loved it! What a great way to spend your birthday! Sadly, I will never be able to go to a Husker football game on my birthday :(

We thought we might get rained on but it ended up being a very sunny and warm day. We made it through the 3rd quarter before we had to take the kids home - not bad for a baby and a toddler!

Easter Sunday

We have wonderful friends. I'm not bragging - just stating a fact. We spent Easter Sunday with some of these wonderful friends.

But we started the day at church. Easter Sunday is my favorite day of the whole year to attend church. It feels like a big victory party because we get to celebrate the fact that Jesus triumphed over sin and death by overcoming the grave! The message at our church was "My God is Stronger" and we heard story after story about God working miracles in hearts and lives. He is stronger than temptation, a broken heart, a broken marriage and even cancer. He is stronger and HE IS RISEN!

We gathered with friends after changing into what Jeremiah calls "comfy clothes." We had a fabulous Easter dinner, complete with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, salads and amazing desserts (Mindee is incredible - you have to check out what we had for dessert).

Of course, then we had an Easter egg hunt. Jeremiah got a head start in the front yard while the big kids went out back and Joshua took a nap! At first, Jeremiah only wanted the green eggs so he bypassed many other eggs in the process. Once we got all the green eggs out of the front yard, we convinced him that the other colors were just as special :)

Another egg, and another egg, and another egg...

After the egg hunt came the annual Easter store. Some eggs contained candy but some had play money in them, so the kids spread out their baskets and eggs downstairs and counted money and candy. The store had all sorts of fun items - stuffed animals, bubbles, gum, more candy, water guns, etc. - and the kids took turns buying one item at a time. Of course, Jeremiah picked the biggest thing on the table the first time through!

Jeremiah and his big red dog, which he named "Clifford!"

Faith and Jeremiah exploring outside after all the fun!

The bubble wands were a big hit! Jeremiah just cracks me up here!

Hope you had a happy Easter as well and can see that God is bigger than anything that may be weighing you down! My God is stronger!

Easter Eggstravaganza!

On Saturday morning, Stephen headed to Omaha for a test (bummer!) and the boys and I headed to church for the annual Easter Eggstravaganza. Along with a massive Easter egg hunt (over 10,000 eggs!), kids could get balloon animals, have their face painted, meet the Easter bunny, walk through a petting zoo and ride a pony!

But most importantly, the day started with the whole group - 450+ kids, plus their parents, hearing about Jesus and the greatest act of love in history. It was an awesome morning and the weather was beautiful!

Unfading Beauty

On April 24th, our church will be putting on "Unfading Beauty: A Spring Fashion Revue." This is our fourth Unfading Beauty show and I am so thrilled to be a part of this event.

You may wonder: "A church doing a fashion show?" But here's the cool thing about it - the show is all about showing girls and women that you can dress in the latest fashions and still be MODEST. The saying I love: "Modest is hottest."

The show has been a life-changing event for so many girls over the years, especially girls from our youth group who have been models. I get goose bumps thinking about the transformations that have happened in the hearts and attitudes of girls who thought very little of themselves before doing the show and came out really knowing just how beautiful God had created them.

It's one thing to have a show like this and have all the adults excited about it - of course, we're the ones wanting to teach about modesty. But you should see how excited all of the girls get - girls are excited about learning to dress cute and modestly! I love it! We had 550 girls and women at the last show!

And this year, we will be having models of ALL ages - from 10 months old to 70-something! Girls and women of all ages are longing to be seen as beautiful without having to show off their bodies - to let their inner beauty shine through.

The t-shirts for the show in the past have this quote: "My beauty is not defined by my outward appearance, but by the inner workings of my heart." That really sums up the theme of the show.

The show will have great entertainment, YUMMY dessert and lots of giveaways! Plus, it's always fun to just hang out with the girls!

You can check out the website for more information and pictures from past shows. Let me know if you have any questions! It will be a really fun night!