Easter

A few thoughts about Easter before I go on about our day.....

I took this picture on sunday amidst all the egg hunts, food, and fun we were having. What a wonderful picture God has given us in nature of what Easter means.......

For those of us living in certain parts of the Northern Hemisphere, Easter comes in springtime. How fitting that amidst all the dead grass and brown nature outside, easter time brings new life...I have noticed several little signs of 'life' this week when I've been running outside and have wanted to take pictures of them (but it's hard to run with a big camera!) Just looking at this flower, I couldn't help but think of the new life we can have in Christ as a result of Easter Sunday...new life, vibrant and filled with color, joy, and growth...only because of Christ's resurrection. But more about our day now....


Unfortunately Matt was on-call for Easter this year so we had to stay in town, but it ended up being a great day and he didn't get called in until around 9pm (not so great for him to have to do surgery until 1am on Easter sunday, but still great for the rest of us that it didn't cut in to our family time.)

We had an easter egg hunt around lunchtime with 3 other families in our neighborhood (have I mentioned that we have the GREATEST neighbors?)

It was pretty fun getting to have an egg hunt right in our own backyards!

Matt found a caterpillar and Sadie was quite anxious to hold it

Showing it off to the other girls

Enjoying the fruits of their labor

After lunch and naps, we went over to our 'extended family's' easter dinner. It's a bit complicated to explain how we are related, so I'll just say that Matt's grandpa Sorensen's sister (Barb) is the grandma of this family. One of Matt's best friends from college also happens to be Barb's grandson, making he and Matt something like 2nd cousins.....whatever it is, we are related! And it was great to have Easter with family since we couldn't be with our immediate families.

Sadie, Alivia, and Merritt

Our 1st family picture of all five of us (I had to take these pics since I have recently realized that we have NO pictures of all five of us together!)

And I'm also realizing that we'll never get a picture where all of us looks great.....it's a law of numbers, really..the more people we have in our family, the less likely we are to have a great picture of everyone!

The 2nd egg hunt of the day

(Laurie Merritt put together about 200 eggs! And there were only 8 kids, with 2 of them being too small to get many eggs)

Grandma (Barb) Merritt holding Blake

Blake at 4 mos. old

Blake continues to be a great baby.....not much new this month...we go in for his 4 mos. checkup next week but he weighs about 18lbs, 6oz. I had to take him in to the dr. office last week (which is how I know his current weight) as I thought he might have an ear infection. He was waking up more frequently at night, which is so unusual for him. So i took him in only to find out that he doesn't have an ear infection but does have swollen gums! Wyatt and Sadie didn't get their first teeth until around 6mos. but this kid may be getting his already.....although it could just be movement of the teeth and they might not actually break through for a month of two. He is showing signs of being hungry as well, so we'll probably start him on cereal within the next week or so. Wyatt started cereal at 4mos. as well--those big babies just get hungry and need more sustenance than milk!

He started the month out like this.......almost rolling over but not quite there yet..

Watching some March Madness

...with Auntie Cam...

And I just took these pictures today.....and right after I took them he rolled over for the first time! Way to go Blake....Wyatt was so excited he started cheering for him which actually scared Blake! It was quite hilarious....

Minnesota Children's Museum

A few weeks ago we met up with some friends at the Children's Museum. Our plan was to only stay for 2 hours, but that quickly turned in to 4! The kids had a blast together and Johnell and I had a great time catching up, discussing parenting/marriage, and laughing together. We've known each other for many years but only recently have been able to spend more time together and I just love processing life with her. We have similar views on kids, discipline, parenting, marriage, and faith and I so enjoyed being able to discuss all these things with her. We have decided that despite living on opposite sides of the city, we should get together at least once a month to let our kids play and hang out. Our kids all get along SO well and I am so thankful for her friendship. She is such a great mom to her kids and we were able to share ideas with each other--I love getting new ideas and a fresh perspective on the things I am dealing with in my life......ok, now on to the pictures from our day!!

Micah and Wyatt (they are only about 6 weeks apart in age)

My little archaeologist, digging for fossils

Johnell and Sadie

Enjoying a little snack before we went to the next room

Sadie lOvEs puppets....which always amazes me since she knows it's my voice talking, yet she looks right at the puppet and talks to it....so cute!

Giving hugs

The 'anthill'.....the kids got to wear little ant costumes and climb through a life-size anthill. They entered on their own, but quickly got a bit freaked out and became paralyzed inside.....so I got to climb through it with them. I wasn't too thrilled at first but ended up getting some great shots of the kids inside....and good thing I wasn't pregnant anymore, because there wasn't much room for my 5'9" body as it was!

The kids loved looking at each other through the aquarium

One of their favorite parts of the museum was being able to do their own face painting while we were eating lunch....and this was Sadie's creation. My perfectionist son Wyatt, however, wanted me to draw on his face so that it would look 'right'. So he requested hockey sticks on one cheek and a puck on the other

He then decided to venture out and draw a few lines on his own!

This room was so cool.....the kids stood in front of a blue wall and could watch themselves on a monitor, which transposed them in to a music video. And my kids love music, so this was perfect!

This was what Blake did most of the time....such a great baby!

However, he did get a little involved......

I had to take this picture because I thought it was so funny. Johnell was telling Wyatt and Micah that they needed to pretend they were 4 yr olds so that we could go into the toddler room for Noah and Sadie.

Johnell, Micah,and Noah---thanks for a great day and we can't wait until next month to see you guys again for our next 'fieldtrip'!