Maisy - 8 months

Last month was our last toothless picture!

She's 8 month and officially has 2 teeth!  She's only been fussy one afternoon in the last month.  Literally.  So we'll blame it on the teeth. 

Her tongue is always out.  Either buzzing....

Or sucking her top lip.

 She really doesn't know how to function if someone isn't touching her!

 She loves to be outside!

 

We're working on finger foods.  So far she isn't too interested in feeding herself, but why would she be when she has 2 siblings always ready to shove the next piece into her mouth?

I can't believe our baby will be 1 before we know it!  She is growing up way faster than the other two.  How does that happen?  Baby girl, we adore you more than you could ever imagine!

Farm Boys

My farm boys.

Micah asks questions about farming or machinery that I sometimes don't know the answers to.  He wants to know how something works or why it moves a certain way.  What would we do without technology?  Lance will pull up a video, and Micah will watch a tractor drive across a field for hours.  If we'd let him.   

Little Cubbie

Our little Cubbie finished both of her books this year at Awana.  That's a lot of verse memorization I'll tell you!  She was pretty excited for her awards night!

 

Of course the vocal performances are always cute and comical!

 

Big Helpers

All ready to help dad in the basement!

They probably think this project is never going to be finished.  I wonder some days myself!  We've had a few hiccups, but it's getting pretty close!

Easter Celebrations

Luke 23:39-43:

       One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
       But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 
       Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

I have always found the details about the criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus very interesting.  One insulted him.  The other became a believer on his deathbed.  Jesus assured the man that he would meet him that very day in paradise.  In this conversation with the criminal, Jesus affirmed the reality of heaven and hell.  He emphasized the necessity of choosing between the two.  These two criminals represent all humans because we all must choose one or the other.  He is in paradise waiting for those who choose him.

This Easter I am so thankful my heart was changed 10 years ago when I became a believer and accepted Jesus as my Savior.  Only with the Holy Spirit in my heart was I able to stop living for myself and truly follow Christ.  Now I can say Jesus is my Lord.  I live for Him each and every day.  It definitely isn't always easy but it sure is a much better way to live than what I was living.  I am stronger.  I am free...from the guilt...from the stress...from the power struggle.  I am forgiven.  I am found.  Amazing.  Amazing grace.  Happy Resurrection Day! 

 

We had a busy Easter weekend!  Lance's family celebrated Easter the day before this year, so we got to celebrate with both of our families.  It's been several years since we've been able to do this, so it was such a blessing. 

 All 9 grandkids!

 

Grandma D taped the eggs shut, so it was quite a task to get them open! 

 We had to wake up Micah Easter morning because Mara was ready to dig into her nest!

 

 

 

After church, we headed to the farm.

 

 

You just never know where Grandpa M might hide eggs!  Sometimes it even takes help from the big kids.

 

8 of 12 great grandkids

The hula hoop contest!

We hadn't gotten a chance to see the lambs yet this spring, so the kids were pretty exited when Great Grandpa brought one out with a bottle!

 

Great Grandpa always comes up with something special to do.  This year he had a corn sheller set up.  The grandkids got to toss in ears of corn.  I don't know if he has any ideas the memories he's making for all of us.  He's a very special man to all of us.

We finally got a family picture with EVERYONE!  My grandparents, their 3 kids, 9 grandkids and 12 great grandkids - complete with everyone's spouses!

 

 

 

Getting Ready for Easter

It's been an exciting couple of weeks in our home leading up to Easter.  The kids and I had fun doing activities together to learn about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. 

I love to see God working in their little hearts.  Through the questions they ask, the stories we read, the crafts we do.  How thankful I am to see God stirring their precious little souls.  This isn't something I grew up witnessing, so it honestly blows my mind. 

I hid 2 eggs for them everyday.  One contained a written part of the Easter story and the other an activity to go along with the piece of the story.

It's probably a bit hard to tell what part they're acting out, but they're in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Mara is Jesus and she's trying to wake Micah, the disciple who is supposed to be praying

We made resurrection rolls a couple years ago, and I found a gluten free recipe this year.  They anointed Jesus (the marshmallow) in oil and then put spices (cinnamon and sugar) on him to prepare him for burial.  They covered him in linen (dough) and placed him in the tomb (oven).  After 3 days (or 12 minutes), he was missing from the tomb (oven)! 

You should've seen the looks on their faces when they opened the oven and looked for their marshmallows! 

"Mom, I don't think marshmallows have feet, so where did it go?" 

Me:  "Remember what happened to Jesus?"

"Silly Mom, our marshmallow didn't go to heaven!"

Easter nests are a Livingston tradition.  This year the kids each made their own nests instead of sharing one.

 

 

Coloring eggs didn't go very well.  Dye everywhere, cracked eggs, and both kids ended up having meltdowns and lots of tears.  Oh well.  Not everything can go really well, right?

 

 

 

Mara's preschool hosted a family Easter night.  Micah was pretty excited to be able to go to school with Mara.

There were lots of games to play.

 And face painting!

More S'mores!

 

I guess I'm totally going to have to stock up on s'more materials.  These kids would roast a

"smarsh-mallow" every night if we could convince Dad to start a fire every night.  It's the simple things that bring joy to their little hearts.