Audrey's birthday week

Audrey had a wonderful time this week, celebrating her 8th birthday with family and friends. Her actual birthday was last Tuesday, the 14th. Audrey and I made cupcakes the night before that she took to her class to celebrate at the end of the day. We celebrated that evening with homemade pizza, ice cream sandwiches, and sharing our favorite memory we have of Audrey this past year (post one in the comments if you have one...she'd love to read them all)! Friday night was a Father-Daughter Dance at school, a fun event to land on your birthday week. Randy and Audrey had a blast dancing the night away ('til the late hour of 8) with her classmates and their dads! Saturday was her party. Audrey wanted to go to Storyland for her birthday this year...so storybooks were sent out to invite friends! We had our picnic lunch in Roeding Park, across from the entrance. We set up a storytelling chair, with blankets all around, that Audrey had fun sitting in to read to her guests while they waited for the hot dogs to cook. After lunch she had fun sitting in her chair again to open presents! Then for dessert! Some cupcakes had little books on them that spelled out Happy Birthday; others had marshmallow castles. Audrey made "thank you" bookmarks that she handed out to her guests inside storybooks of their own that they could take home as favors. After that, off to Storyland! I had never even been to Storyland before. It is a wonderful, imaginative playground that is perfect for little kids. All the little houses and slides are just their size (see them peeking out of one of the Little Pigs' houses above). And Audrey brought her key to put in the boxes and hear the stories. As if Storyland weren't fun enough, after leaving the park we got to get on the train that took us a couple hundred feet to Playland! This spring, you can get a "Play all day" bracelet for only $10 (their answer to the recession) that is good for both parks! So we took advantage of the price cut and enjoyed the entire afternoon in the park! The girls ran from ride to ride; it was so fun to see them smile and laugh and feel like "big girls" going on everything without an adult! By 3 o'clock the kids were wearing down and feeling the heat (it got close to 90 degrees). But, no worries, they just jumped into the Splash Station to cool down! And then, sopping wet and exhausted, we headed to our cars for the ride home. Audrey finished her day dressing up and serving tea to her brother and sister as well as trying out her new "Samba Samba Maraca" game on the Wii. What a great day!

Sunday we were ready to relax. After a slow morning, lunch, and big nap, we walked down the block to have dinner with the Wiens' family. After dinner the adults were relaxing in front of the TV, watching some play-off basketball, the kids were enjoying the warm spring weather in the backyard. Isaac was happily climbing the grapefruit tree, collecting the fruit one by one and lining them up by the back door to make some juice. And then comes the scream from the yard that every parent knows means something is just not right. We look outside to see Isaac crying, running to the door and holding the back of his head. As I'm already saying, "You're OK. You're OK." I can see the blood on his hands and the back of his neck. Knowing that head wounds bleed a lot (from unfortunate events with Isaac before, see this post), I calmly took a look at it to quickly assess that this was NOT small. I immediately squeezed the 2 inch gash shut with my palm and gave it some good pressure as we walked back out the door to keep blood from dripping onto the carpet. Aaron was already at my side with an ice pack and first aid kit, Randy was running out the door to get the van, and Christa's asking if it's bad enough to call 9-1-1. Audrey, upon hearing the words 9-1-1 starts screaming and asking "Is the ambulance coming?". So we're calming down two children now, trying to find out what happened. It was a simple slip out of the tree as one of the bottom branches broke off with his weight. If he'd landed on the ground it would have been no big deal. But the tree is really close to the fence, and wood isn't very forgiving when breaking a fall.

Well, Aaron drove Isaac to the emergency room, with Randy keeping pressure on his head in the back seat. I got the girls home (Audrey now calm) and in bed before calling around to find someone to come sit at the house with the girls so I could go to the ER and relieve Aaron (thanks again Mike and Abi). By the time I got there, Isaac was already in a room, head assessed, irrigated, numbed and bandaged. He was playing games on Aaron's phone, just waiting for the doctor to return and staple up the wound. He was a trooper, laying very still as the doctor punched 8 staples into the back of Isaac's head. We were home before 11 and Isaac was asleep within minutes. Whew! What a way to end the week. Auntie Christa lovingly kept the grapefruit on the kitchen windowsill for Isaac to make juice sometime this week. After all that, he should enjoy the fruit juice of his labor!

Easter Week

What a full week! We started off our Spring Break with MCC Sale (see post below). Then, after recuperating on Sunday with a long nap and a relaxing dinner with great friends, we were ready for our week! Monday we walked around the neighborhood, first to the library for some books for the week, then to the grocery store to get ingredients for our dinner. We had a great dinner, catching up with the Isaac's. And since there was no school the next day for any of our kids (or for Jason and Jane, both being teachers) we hung out, watched the basketball game, enjoyed pies from the MCC sale, and chatted until well past dark. When our kids started to "melt down" around 10 we finally decided to call it a night. Tuesday, the kids and I braved the wind and eminent thunderstorms and headed to Oso de Oro Park to play, swing, feed the ducks, and run and run and run! We had a great time, but all that wind made for a rough night of coughing (all those pollens and stuff in the air triggered Isaac's allergies/asthma and gave Violet a stuffy nose). So Wednesday we laid low and watched some movies during the day. By dinnertime we felt so cooped up though, we called the Wiens' family to join us for a dinner out! All nine of us headed to Chevy's (a great place to dine with kids: loud, inexpensive, and all the chips, tortillas and salsa you want for free)! Thursday the kids enjoyed a play-date with some friends in the morning and then, they spent the evening with just Dad, since I drove to Bakersfield to attend Barbara's memorial service. Thank you to all of you that prayed for my safety driving back and forth by myself. Although the whole day was emotional and difficult, I am glad that I went. My friend Jill (Johnson) Lee met me at the church and we sat with most of the other girls that lived in the dorm with me and Barbara. I spent quite a while after the service looking through picture books that Barbara had made over the past years, and reading her "cancer journal" which was sad but inspiring as you could see Barbara's faith and hope in God reflecting through her words. I took advantage of the driving time alone, over 4 hours total, to listen to encouraging music (as well as some Easter podcasts from Imago Dei's Rick McKinley) and reflect on God's love and His promises to Barbara, to her family, and to me! Friday, Randy had the day off, and joined us for the annual Easter Eggstravaganza that our church holds in the neighborhood park. The kids enjoyed the morning, full of friends, a craft, music, the Easter story, a bounce house, and an egg hunt! Saturday we attended another egg hunt, but this one wasn't for our kids. Grandma Arlene joined us for a trip to the Fresno Zoo, where the zookeepers had made special eggs (they looked like paper mache) with treats inside for the animals. The kids had fun spotting the brightly colored eggs in many of the habitats, some still intact, others broken open to eat the goodies inside! And Sunday, of course, was the big day! Randy and Isaac started their morning at 5:30 a.m. when they woke up, got dressed and headed out the door for a sunrise service. The girls and I slept in until 7:15, about the time Randy and Isaac got home. We enjoyed a wonderful celebration of Christ's resurrection with our church family in the morning, then headed to Randy's mom's house to spend the rest of the day! We ate lunch, hid more eggs for the kids, I took a nap (what holiday wouldn't be complete without a snooze on the couch after a big meal?), and just relaxed the day away! Here's a few pictures from Easter Sunday.

Hosanna, hosanna.

I woke up, multiple times last night, with this word running through my brain, and creating knots in my stomach. Hosanna means "Save us" or "Deliver us". The song "Hosanna" by Christy Nockels was in my head the minute I woke up this morning. I have played it over and over again today as I try to make it through my day without falling apart in front of my children.

I rarely share this openly on my blog...I usually use it as a forum for "reporting" the events of our family or kids. But today I felt the need to share as part of making it through my day. Tonight I will be driving to Bakersfield to attend the funeral of my college roommate, Barbara (Cackler) Holm. She passed away last week after a 2 year battle with breast cancer. She was married just short of 10 years to my childhood friend, Mike Holm. They have three beautiful children, Julianna, Jackson, and Joshua...5 1/2, 4, and 2 respectively. I cannot stop the tears from flowing as I think of having to bury one's spouse at such a young age. I cannot help but fall to my knees, asking God's peace (a peace that he PROMISES, and a peace that is like none the world can give) to fall on Barbara's family, husband and children. I cannot help but cry out, Hosanna, Lord, save us, from all that would keep us far from you. Lord, gather Barbara's children under your wings, shelter them from the storms that will come their way.

Please pray for Barbara's family, husband, and children, not only on this difficult week, but in the weeks and years to come as they adjust, and grieve, and most likely cry, "Lord save us" many times as they struggle to walk through their days, or hours, or even minutes.

Open House, MCC, and Palm Sunday

The past few days have been full, and very fun! This past Thursday was Open House for Audrey and Isaac's elementary school. We started off in Isaac's classroom where he got a chance to show us how much he's learned in reading and math through various stations set up around the room. He also proudly showed off some artwork to Dad (I say Dad because I'd already seen them since I am the room-mom that does art/craft projects with the kids every Friday morning). Isaac and his horse painting. Isaac with his teacher!

After that we headed down the hall to Audrey's room which was FULL of stuff to see! They are studying life cycle in insects, so Audrey's teacher has silk worms in a box, painted butterflies in a netted cage, some other kind of insect in a cocoon, as well as an art farm, ladybugs, a tarantula named Harriet, and a praying mantis with an egg sack. Finally, Audrey wanted to show us her mealworm. Each student was given a mealworm over a month ago and has observed and journaled about it while caring for it and watching it turn into a pupa. Lucky for us, she got to take it home for spring break so that we can watch it eventually turn into a beetle. Ironically, instructions were sent home on how to "care" for your mealworm, observing the life cycle, and eventually to "dispose" of the mealworm once it turns into a beetle as these are considered "pests". Hmmmm. Audrey showing Dad how she navigates her school laptop.

Since Friday was the last day of school before Spring Break, each of the kids' classes had a spring party. We made sugar cookies in the shape of flowers, bunnies, and butterflies for the event, but died the dough purple! They turned out nicely. Violet hard at work!

Friday night we headed out to the West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale (aka MCC Sale)! As most of you know, our family looks forward to this weekend ALL YEAR LONG! We love visiting with friends, eating great German food, and mostly, raising money to help people around the world whose lives have been upended by natural (and man-made) disasters. I was very excited this year to see a booth selling borscht (a soup with meat, potatoes, cabbage, and dill)! I'm still holding out hope for the Russian pancakes to come back some day! Even after zwiebach, German sausage, and salad, Audrey and I warmed our tummies with a big bowl of yumminess! We went to the Ten Thousand Villages tent (handcrafts from around the world) and let the kids each pick out a little something. Audrey picked a ring. Isaac picked a stuffed lizard and snake. Violet picked a stuffed monkey. We let the kids jump in the bounce house for a while! We went to the "country store" and bought 2 homemade pies and some pomegranate jelly! Then we sat inside the gym to watch the antique auction (and get a break from the cold wind), chatting with friends and eating raisin fritters and more zwiebach! As you can see, Violet, Charlotte, and Mya enjoy eating their zwiebach! We left well after dark, but early enough to get a good nights' sleep so that we could get up the next morning and do it all over again! Randy was the first to rise on Saturday morning so that he could be at the track, ready to run the 10K Run for Relief at 7 a.m. He ran his fastest time ever for that distance, 46:04! Good job Randy! We got there a little later to join Randy for pancake breakfast with more German sausage! We enjoyed the next few hours visiting with friends, letting the kids play some fun games, watching the quilt auction for a while, and, of course, eating some lunch before we headed home! Is this fun or what? Lizard-head!


Our full weekend ended with the kids singing in church for Palm Sunday. Isaac sang out loud and strong, and didn't hit anyone with his palm branch this year...hooray! And Violet sang too, while standing and waving her palm branch (as opposed to kneeling down and making faces like she did at Christmas)...hooray again!