2017 Easter

 What a beautiful morning! New mercies, new life. This morning we woke up to alarms, still groggy. The sun was nowhere to be seen. Perfect! We are not too late. We rustle the kids out of bed. They know the routine; they are expecting it. We grab our bible, still in our jammies, some wrapped in blankies. We have already made coffee and have our juice packed. We pile into our van and drive. We are already beginning to see signs of daylight. We pull into the park where we have gone each year since the move. We open the bible to Mark 15, then Matthew 27, back to Mark 16, then we finish in Luke 24. We read the account of Joseph wrapping the crucified and dead Jesus in linen and laying him in the tomb. Then we read how the stone was rolled to seal the tomb and how guards stood outside the tomb around the clock to make sure no on tampered with the body. Still, before the sun rose our Savior Jesus was raised back to life by the Father. When the women (the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdelene and the other women) came to the tomb in the morning with spices, the tomb was empty. Before the sun had even had time to rise, the Son had already risen. The power in our Savior is incomparable. 

 

We enjoy donuts, fruit, coffee and juice. We watch the sunrise and notice the signs of new life around us, remembering the new life given to us in Christ. We are joined by a group of students who also welcome the new day in silence. What a beautiful day. The clouds are low and cover the sunrise, but I love the gold shimmer peaking through the gray horizon. Even when life challenges to overcome the light, it cannot. "The light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it." John 1:5. We then go home to shower and attend worship service with our church family. We then meet with family over a beautiful feast that my grandmother is known for. We spend time letting the kids search for eggs and play outside. This Sunday is more beautiful than them all.

 

 



 

 

Clementine: 9 Months

  

Our little lady is nine months old. She is crawling (or something very close to it). She uses one knee and one foot. She is the only West to crawl this way. She does things her way. She is eating some solid foods now and loves them. She squawks for more food. She eats organic oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas and avocado and loves every bit of it. She still nurses 5-6 times a day and once a night. She finally cut her that first tooth! We expect more soon. And, we are still trying to decide if those curls are here to stay or not. She is the apple of our eye! We love this little doll baby!

Lottie turns 4

Our little China doll turned 4 years old. This is our second birthday to celebrate with her, and she celebrated two without us in China. She has been home just over a year now. Much has changed since Lottie's first birthday home. She is much more at ease with our family, though still a bit apprehensive and on guard in social settings. We kept her party with just our immediate family, but we are sure bigger birthdays are to come. This one is big, just in a different sense. She knew her day was about her, where the first one we celebrated with her, she did not quite understand. She ate her sweet treats eagerly and with delight, where with her first home party we fed it to her. This year we have learned the things that bring our girl joy and were able to be much more thoughtful with her gifts. The kids chipped in and bought a great, big ball that she LOVED. And, mom and dad bought her a swing for outside play. We have learned that even with her vision impairment and sensitivity to light, she loves outdoors. The toddler swing was perfect since her muscles are still developing. She loved her gifts. And, we love our little girl!

 

Happy birthday, Lottie!!

 

Splish Splash

Bath time has always been an enjoyment for our kids, and especially for us to watch! Now that Clementine can sit unassisted, she can have a bit more water to splash around in. Still not letting anyone join her just yet. She loves her bath and splashing all around!!