Easter 2008

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

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Little Bunny Foofoo?

Grammie sent Madeline these adorable bunny ears! She's just had a bath and is sitting on her bed reading books wearing her new ears. Thank you Grammie!

The Playmate Song

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Salvation Mountain

This was an amazing...no, bewildering...no, outrageous...um, indescribable sight. This man-made mountain, located just outside Niland, CA, was constructed out of adobe and painted with myriad colors. The builder/artist, Leonard Knight, wanted to create a visual display of "outsider art" which includes Bible verses, the sinner's prayer and the Lord's prayer. He continues to add on to the mountain, constructing "caves" and walk-throughs which are also painted and exhibit his theme of "God is Love". Visit his website, http://www.salvationmountain.us/ if you're interested in seeing more of his work.

Our group was on the "golden road" up the mountain to catch a spectacular view of the sunset.

Father and son...a sweet moment. We went to look at "art" but found ourselves marveling at God's brilliant display of His own designs: the clouds look whispery and ideally painted on a canvas of blue, the sunset reflecting colors of orange, yellow and pink on our faces. Now that's beautiful!

This a full view of the original Salvation Mountain; the newest additions are off to the right and pictured below with Jay.

You can see how Leonard builds his caves. He literally uses wood, hay and stubble as the foundation for his walls and then paints over them. And you can witness the frailty of such resources as they have tried to keep walls from cracking and crumbling. What excellent imagery for I Corinthians 3:12-13, "Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident..."

Flowers, Ficketts and the Fair

This past weekend we relished some time with our dear friends and family in El Centro. We attended the city's annual Winter fair where funnel cakes, caramel corn, jumbo corndogs and cotton candy abound.

If only I had taken a video of this moment! This particular cow was mooing his heart out. Bill was demonstrating for the cow how to make dulcet sounds. All these cows (and pigs, sheep and goats) were being judged at the fair. The winners received ribbons and funding to continue their care of the animal.

Poor Madeline. She's going to think that all barns smell good, and all pens are spotless. What she needs is a good six months on a dairy farm!

One of the rides Madeline enjoyed was on a jumbo Dumbo. It is similar to the Dumbo ride at Disneyland, but with less restraint and more electrical cords showing. Right after this ride, the wind started blowing and cut short our fun day at the fair.

Pre-Reader

Madeline loves this book so much, she has memorized it and "reads" it to Mason. It is Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle.

Happy 42nd, Daddy!

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We celebrate you today, Jay, an unequalled daddy and my beloved husband.

No need for one; he is one!

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This morning, Madeline saw Mason take his first steps and informed me that he was walking. At first I thought she meant he had taken one step, which he's been doing for a few days now. But she was insistent that he had taken three or four steps. When I turned around, he walked toward me...and I got to see him pass this milestone. I'm so thankful for video! Aren't you?

Our Valentine

We celebrated this morning with a fun breakfast (heart-shaped pancake with whipped cream, chocolate chips and strawberries) and a new book. Madeline doesn't quite understand why we're giving each other cards or eating yummy things, but she's enjoying the ride (or should I say sugar high). What she does understand is that we can show love to one another because Jesus first loved us and showed us how to express our love for others. That makes today all the more sweet.

Mason Makes His Mark

Our coffee table before Mason and the wooden ice cream toy...

Our table after Mason and the wooden ice cream toy. What will Daddy say when he comes home from work? (It won't be, "Good boy, Mason!")
Well, Daddy came home and saw the damage. Much to my surprise, he said, with great disappointment, "Oh well. I guess that goes along with having kids." Do you think now would be a good time to tell him I put a dent in the car door? :)

A Sunshiney Day in February

We have renamed our daughter. She is no longer Madeline; she is Stands With A Smile.

Mason is such a cutie. He loves being at the park. And although he didn't venture far from the blanket at first, he soon lost all reserve and ended up climbing on Madeline's tricycle. Before we know it, he'll be opening his own bank account.

Madeline helped her community today. She took a wet wipe and cleaned off all the bark and dirt at the bottom of the slide so the kids at the park wouldn't get their clothes dirty. She's a girl after my own heart!

If only he would stay this young...and clean. A mom can wish, can't she?

Let Them Make Cake!

These are my beautiful students who managed to sit through over 4 hours of instruction and still laugh and listen and then produce spectacular cakes. Brava, ladies!

Of course, what would a Wilton frosting recipe be without Crisco?

Voila! The "Christmas" cake, as Amanda coined it. I think it looks great in her signature grey/blue shell border and red tri-dots.

Amber was ready to chow down! But she refrained and let others enjoy the beauty of her hard work. And she has a funny story that accompanies the green balloon behind her. When you see her, ask her about it.

Jen was about to drop this cake it became so heavy with frosting. She did a fantastic job of smoothing out the frosting and then decorating it herself. Well done!

Our beautiful girl

What a precious sweetheart Madeline is! She so often shows a heart full of gratitude, which is the foundation for a life of serving others with joy. I pray that the Lord will confirm this attitude in her and make her an effective tool for His use.

I Thought You'd Graduated

I sent Madeline into Mason's room this morning when I heard him awake and playing in his bed after his nap. I entered to find a baby and a monkey! And if Mason learns as quickly as I think he will, we'll have to find a canopy for the crib to keep the new monkey in!

E.T.?

I'm not sure who put whom in the animal basket, but Mason sure fits the part!

The Birthday Boy

We took Mason to Denny's for his birthday breakfast. This was one way to get a picture of all four of us together.

Isn't this is a great shot of Jay and Mason? This is one of my favorites. We ordered the "alien" pancakes for Mason and he gobbled up the whipped cream, although he didn't care for syrup on his pancake.

The Denny's staff was very sweet and they brought Mason a bowl of ice cream with a candle in it and then they all sang their special birthday song to him. He was quite amused by the whole production. I was glad we got a pretty good picture of our family during it all.

Happy birthday, Buddy!

Another great shot of Mason and Daddy. Jay has taught Mason to put his hand (or whatever toy he happens to be holding) up to his ear when he says, "Hello". I guess Jay has high hopes of his son becoming a telemarketer. Anyway, that's what Mason is doing in this picture.

And, the Party

This was Mason's cake: chocolate cake with Swiss buttercream frosting. The brown swirls were made from pressed milk chocolate.

This was the cake in-progress. I didn't really know what I was going to do for the decorations on the cake and so I made it up as I went along. This is not the most time efficient way to work, but it all got done in time for the party.

Mason just loves his party hat, can't you tell? It's funny, he'll wear any other type of hat, but when I put this one on his head, he just cried and cried. Well, we needed more table decorations anyway!

This was Mason's entrance to the party place (aka. the garage). Jay brought him down all spiffy and he was ready to celebrate!

And this is it...garbage bins and all. With a few balloons and Chinese lanterns the place cleans up real nice. It really was perfect for our little get together, and the birthday boy didn't complain once. Now, we might hear something different when he grows up and realizes his first party was in the garage. Although I have it on good authority that guys prefer to be in the garage than almost anywhere else in the house!

Mason's Birthday Friends

This is Kate, Madeline's best girl friend. They made "berry pies" all evening, picking the berries from a bush outside our garage.

This is Kerry, my very dear friend and confidante.

Two sweet neighbor gals, Jadin and Brodie, are always offering their able hands to play with the kids in the cul-de-sac. They are extremely entrepreneurial, sending out fliers to offer their service as cleaners, babysitters, and even offering back massages.

The boys in the foreground are Cooper and Campbell. What good friends they are to Madeline and Mason! They have learnt well from their parents what it is to be faithful friends.

And so the party was well attended with all those loved ones (minus family) we hold dear.

Christmas 2007

Jay gave Madeline her first scooter for Christmas. It's the old fashioned Radio Flyer with 3 wheels. He also included in her gift a helmet, knee, and elbow pads, for those inevitable spills. She likes riding it, although she has to build up her leg muscles and coordination a bit more.

Madeline also received a set of new, dramatized Bible stories on cd. I replaced her broken boombox with a new one, and Grammie and GrandBud gave her some new stories to listen to. She is fascinated with the account of Noah's Ark and keeps it on "repeat" all night. I guess it's better to hear the screaming of folks left outside the ark than Britney Spears' latest disc. (I could make an unsavory comment here, but I won't.)

If you click on the above picture, you'll see Mason's first knife. Jay thought it wouldn't be too early to get his son started on a knife collection. And his first one should be a Buck. Mason's been having fun cutting up the carpet, some of his stuffed animals, and his sister's hair!
(Do you really think we'd open the package yet?)

Mason is a very curious little guy. He loved watching Madeline open her gifts and play with them as opposed to playing with his own gifts.

But Mason does love to play with balls of all shapes and sizes...and textures. This "hairy" ball is one of his favorites, sent to Madeline and him by their cousins in Alaska, Luke and Niccole.

These are certainly not all of our Christmas pictures. I have yet to filter through them all and I will eventually add the best ones of our time in El Centro with our sister-in-law, Vicki, and her boys, Caleb and Asa. We all spent the holiday with Gramma and Grandpa. If you visit Jay's blog (see the link in the margin), you can watch a video he made with the boys. We had such a great time! Thanks, family, for giving us such wonderful memories.

Thanksgiving 2007

I love this picture of the King and lil' prince. I just can't say it with more sincerity: Jay is the best Daddy to our children. They are so blessed to witness his model of integrity and tenderness.

Although the picture is a bit blurry, you can certainly make out our smiles. Jay may have sacrificed his presence in the photo but he was sure to keep his seat at the table and indulge in our tasty feast. He made is annual cornbread dressing, which was by far his best batch yet. And of course, we couldn't have Thanksgiving without Cherry Coke Salad. And, yum-yum, Mimi's mashed potatoes were sensational! I know all my readers probably have warm, wonderful memories that they are recalling of their Thanksgiving celebration. But we delighted in God's lavish provision of comfort, bonding relationships, laughter, and spiritual discussions...not to mention the After-Thanksgiving shopping spree! What a kindhearted, unsparing and generous God is ours!