Amazing Love

The Saturday before Easter we spent with my family in Woodstown. Here, the kids are getting ready to go out for the annual egg hunt.
Andy snuck Lizzie out a minute early to try to let her find an egg before the bigger kids and she just kept walking right past them :-) She was just happy to be outside with the wind blowing her hair! She thinks that's so funny!

Jon filling up his basket

Natalie pausing for a picture

I love this picture of Lizzie holding onto the big tree, wind blowing her hair, big smile on her face!

Jake and David racing around for eggs

Gabrielle happy she found one on the firepit bricks

Aunt Cheryl got both David and Jon these firefighter outfits for their birthdays
(they weren't able to make it to Jon's party, so they gave him his gift today)

This is Sunday morning at out house. Lizzie found an egg in Jake's shoe...the first egg of the day!

Jake showing his find

Jon, in his Christmas pjs, showing his eggs

All of us dressed in our Sunday best before church. I think it's impossible to get a nice picture of all of us smiling, not squirming or making funny faces, but hey, this isn't too bad :-)

The five of us on the couch after church. The funny faces are starting to emerge and Lizzie's obviously exhausted and in need of a nap by this point in the day.

Our friend, Brian, and his daughter, Brooklyn, came with us to church and stayed for lunch afterward at our house. We were happy to have them. Unfortunately, Marie was out-of-town.

Mommom and Popsy and the kids

I forgot to get my camera out, but we were thankful Aunt Kimmy and our neighbors, Al and Sandy joined us for Easter dinner, as well.

As much fun as we have doing all the egg hunts, opening Easter basket goodies and having wonderful get-togethers with family and friends, it's important to reflect on why we really celebrate this most holy day.
(click on songs #3 and #2)

"Amazing Love"

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken.

I'm accepted. You were condemned.

I'm alive and well. Your spirit is within me

because you died and rose again.

Amazing love, how can it be

that you my king should die for me?

Amazing love, I know it's true

and it's my joy to honor you

in all I do to honor you.

You are my king

Jesus, you are my king.

"In Christ Alone"

In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Jon's Movin' Out

So Jon and I are putting our puzzle away yesterday and he gives me a big hug and says, "Mommy I love you and I'll never forget you."
"I love you, too and I'll never forget you either, bud, but where are you going?"
"Well, when I'm 11, I'm moving in with Aunt Kimmy and Mr. Don."
"Oh, is that right?"
"Yeah, Aunt Kimmy said I could. But don't worry, I'll come visit you."

Please Touch Museum

Andy got home in the wee hours Thursday morning before Easter. He decided to take Friday off, so we made it a fun family day and went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. Andy's mom has been dying to go, so we invited her and Popsy to come along, too, since they were both off from school for Good Friday. We had such a fabulous time!!!The boys making music by shaking cables hooked to percussion instruments in the top of the tree
Lizzie found this feather in the craft room, started tickling us all with it and just giggling!!!

The boys and Lizzie all loved the giant water exhibit

This giant hamster wheel was Jake's favorite exhibit

Mommom getting "hit' by the Septa bus Jon was driving

Jon "fixing" a car's wheel

Jon climbing atop one of the hedges in Alice in Wonderland

Jake as the King of Hearts

Lizzie loved walking around and being able to see and touch everything! What a great place for little ones!

We had a great day at the museum and topped off the day with an early dinner at Kimmy and Don's house right across the bridge. Thanks for having us such short notice :-)

Rainy Days and "Mud"days Don't Get Us Down

So Andy was gone on his trip before Easter. It had been rainy for a few days. The kids were getting antsy to go outside. I decided, hey, why not? Just let them get muddy. That's what they make bathtubs for, right? Kids will be kids and this is one of the best parts about being a kid...just getting filthy dirty and lovin' every minute of it!!!!

The three of them in the garden, aka: the mud hole (literally, mud hole. Before all the rain, the boys had been digging for dinosaur bones in the garden and made a huge hole which, of course, filled with water!)

There really are toes under all that mud

And hands to match. Nice, Jonny!

Jake's showing me his car. Looks like a big blob of mud.

Yup, she's a walkin'!!! You can see, she was just as happy to get dirty as the boys :-)

Oh my goodness!
Can you believe my fabulous washing machine got all this dirt out?

Christmas Tree #4

Andy worked hard digging the hole for our fourth live Christmas tree to be planted. It's been hanging out in the garage all winter. Now that the weather is nicer, time to put it in the ground (this was a couple weekends ago). As per tradition, the kids sit in the hole for a picture before the tree goes in. The hole seems a little smaller with three kids in it :-)
While the boys were digging, Lizzie decided she was going to try to climb the rock wall. Monkey see, monkey do...

Jake and Jon dug out the compost to put in the tree hole

Good teamwork, guys!

Dumping all the compost into the hole

Daddy put the tree into the hole and the boys enjoyed using the hose to water it.

Our fourth Christmas tree is successfully in the ground.

Microwave White Chicken Chili

A few months ago, I discovered a recipe for green chili chicken enchiladas that we absolutely LOVE! The only problem is, it's very time-consuming. You broil tomatillas, chop a bunch of stuff, including fresh cilantro, process the sauce, etc. Just a lot of steps, but so yummy. Anyway, Andy's on a trip right now and I was looking for something quick to make for dinner for me and the kids and found this recipe in one of those little Pampered Chef $1 cookbooks. IT WAS SO GOOD! And really easy. It totally has the same flavor as the time consuming recipe, but with a lot less prep. I'm not usually a microwave cooker, but this was great! I made a few changes to the original recipe, so I'll just type what I did. Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we did!

Microwave White Chicken Chili

3 whole heads garlic, unpeeled (this sounds like a lot, but it's not spicy at all! Lizzie loved it!)

1/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp olive oil, divided (probably could use less)

1/2 green pepper

1 med. onion

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2)

2 Tbsp. taco seasoning

2 cans great northern beans, drained

1-16 oz. jar salsa verde (mine was medium)

Slice about 1/4 in off pointed top of garlic heads to expose cloves. Place garlic cut side up in classic batter bowl. Sprinkle garlic with salt and drizzle with 2 Tbsp oil. Cover bowl with lid (note: any glass bowl with a lid or plastic would work). Microwave on high 3 minutes or until garlic is soft. Set aside to cool (remove cover). Meanwhile, finely dice peppers and onion (I used food processor). Put in deep covered baker or other larger microwave-safe bowl (I used my 9x13 stone with plastic wrap to cover). Trim fat from and cut chicken into small cubes. Add chicken, seasoning, and 1 Tbsp oil to baker. Mix well and microwave, covered on high 4 min. Stir to separate chicken. Cover again and microwave another 4-6 min or until chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, gently squeeze cooled garlic from heads into batter bowl. Mash using fork (or put into food processor). Add beans and salsa. Stir. Add to chicken mixture in baker. Mix well. Microwave, covered, on high 5-7 min or until chili is heated through. We sprinkled a little shredded mexican blend cheese and crumpled tortilla chips on top. YUM!

Yield: 8 cups

Lizzie's Party

Happy 1st Birthday, Lizzie!!!!

"Good Things Come in Small Packages"

I told my mom about my idea of "good things come in small packages" for Lizzie's party theme. The idea came from the shirt Lizzie is wearing. I made "gift" invitations with a picture of her wearing the shirt and my mom got busy thinking of ideas for a cake. We ended up finding this on the Wilton (the cake decorating company) website. I think it turned out cute. Thanks, Krista for letting me borrow the #1 pan!
I'm so thankful to be close to family now. My nephew Darnel and my sister Jenn came down for Lizzie's party. Darnel turned 14 the day after Lizzie's birthday! He was actually disappointed that she wasn't born on his birthday. He wanted to share it with her.

My friend, Yolanda and her son, Jacob

Here's my sister, Jenn! Thanks for making the drive! I really appreciate you being there!

Popsy, "Muncle" Don, and Aunt Kimmy (and Mommom who was busy feeding Lizzie her dinner) also made the trek. Jon kept bringing these guy apples, oranges, and veggies and eating all the strawberries himself :-)

My friend, Marie and her daughter, Brooklyn

My friend, Andrea

The Pachecos

Gage and Evelyn enjoying the meatballs and ziti

Matt and Hunter

Krista

Tristan giving me his tough guy face

Jake, Andy, Kevin (who won the "guess how many Cheerios are in the jar" contest) and Caden

Meredith, Lila (isn't she the cutest?), Amy, and Kyle...their hubbies/daddies work with Andy in his new squadron

The "One-derful" cake again

Lizzie's special #1 cake

Okay, the candle looks much closer to her hand in this picture than it actually was!!! She was very eager to eat her cake, can you tell????

YUM!!!!! There wasn't a whole lot of checkin' it out...she just got right to putting the whole thing in her mouth and taking a nice big bite!

Didn't take long and she had it almost polished off!

Aunt Kimmy, Jon and Jake

Time for presents! She got some adorable clothes, the cute flower clip she's wearing in her hair, some fun books and a few toys! Thanks everyone!!! Everything was just great! For her thank you notes, the kids designed their own "wrapping paper" with markers, we added a bow and a tag that said "your friendship is a gift."

Lizzie sporting one of her cute new hair clips. I've gotta work on the hairdos!!!

Anna playing the "unwrap the gift" game. Her brother, Evan won.

Cameron. Don't you just love his eyelashes???

Cool, dude!

Getting tickled by Daddy

The birthday girl playing with her new bath toy, Buster the dog. She says "woof" everytime she sees a dog!

Getting some lovin' from Daddy

Happy Birthday Lizzie! We love you baby girl!

And thanks to all our friends and family who came to help Lizzie celebrate her very first birthday. We love you guys and truly cherish your friendship.