Our winter, in brief

Hello!  I can’t believe it’s been 3 months since I last posted.  I hope you’ve all had a wonderful January, February, and March.  So, a lot has happened since I last posted here.  In an attempt to play catch up, let me share a few photos of our winter and what we were up to.

This was by far the mildest winter I can remember while living here in the Midwest.  We only had a handful of days with snow and I think the kids only used their sleds once, but when we did have snow, they were outside to enjoy it.

Poor Emily wanted to join in too!

Emily has changed the most this winter.  She’s been teething and popped out her first tooth at 16 months and two more followed shortly.

Emily enjoys playing dolls with Audrey.  She rocks, hushes, and feeds her babies just like her Audrey does.

Emily got her first haircut…

 

And, she started walking!

Look how big she is, my baby.  (sigh)

 

We remembered Brianna’s 4th heavenly birthday on Valentine’s Day. So much has changed in the past four years.  Life goes on, kids continue to grow, we get older, friendships change, but the way I remember Brianna, that always stays the same.

Every year we remember Brianna’s birthday with a cupcake at Designer Desserts in Valparaiso.  Here are my three kiddos at the colorful bakery.  I often wonder what it would be like with another child in the picture.  I do miss her.

 

And here’s my oldest, my birthday boy, who turned 6 this year!

He had a party with two friends from his Kindergarten class and an inflatable Mickey Mouse.  They had a blast!

 

(Audrey wanted a picture with Mickey too.)

Logan said he didn’t want me to plan any games or activities for his party this time (what?!), so the boys just had a lot of fun playing with Logan’s toys, games, and the old nintendo in the basement.  This is also the first year Logan has been able to play outside on his February birthday!

 

February was a busy month for us and took us on a couple trips.  We drove to Des Moines to see my newest niece, Lydia, get baptized.  What a beautiful service.  I also love it that the pastor gave my brother Mark a letter for Lydia to be opened on her 14th birthday.  I just think that’s so cool.

All the cousins and Mark and Hanna in front of church.

 

The next weekend, Emily travelled on an airplane for the first time on her “girls’ trip” to Ripon, CA with my mom and me.  We had so much fun!

(This picture was on our little hopper plane from San Francisco to Modesto and it was snapped before take off.  Emily rode on my lap the whole way.)

 

Oh, how I love and miss the almond blossoms!

While Emily and I were in CA, Luke took the older two kids to his parents’ house in Michigan.  Logan and Audrey love to help Grandma make pancakes in the mornings. 

 

Even if no one is checking this blog, I like to keep it up because it’s a good way for me to document this season of our life.  It’s busy, and often it feels like I spend my days settling arguments, sweeping up crumbs, and answering questions, but it’s good and I’m thankful. 

Happy Spring to all of you, and hopefully I’ll be updating a little more regularly again.  Audrey’s 3rd birthday is right around the corner.  She’s super excited about it, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of pictures to share soon.