What we've been up to...

Same excuse...different month...I always intend to blog but..don't...there you go...here is a bit of what we have been up to...

Since it has been...oh a long time, I have to back up quite a bit...

We celebrated Rebekah's 8th birthday in the beginning of March with an American Girl party. She got her first doll, Rebecca, from my parents, Mike's mom and step dad, and us...

Caleb's birthday is soon after and we had an amazing Amazing Race party! This was probably my favorite party I have ever thrown for one of my kids, and I hope the girls want to do it one day...lots of clues and running around the neighborhood...even a roadblock and detour...and now my oldest is 10...sigh...

Caleb and Ezra came out the winners!!...and they each got a $5 gift card to Walmart...I didn't have one million on hand...

...We went for our first family hike to Look Rock on Good Friday. It was a beautiful day and we talked about the death and resurrection of Jesus while looking out at the beautiful creation God made...






...and we celebrated Easter!...

..and we celebrated Little Joe's 10th birthday...he is the best stuffed rabbit a boy could ask for!..Caleb threw him a party, and made him gifts!

...we planted our first vegetable garden at our "new house", thanks to our neighbor who rota-tilled for us....



and I have been working on discovering the lost flower beds in my yard that have been overgrown for years...Mike says my next door neighbors may no longer like me since they will be able to see our back yard now...oh well, it is looking fabulous!

....we have been taking lots of pictures of my sweeties and all the beauty the spring brings...

...my baby boy keeps growing and growing...no idea how big he is...but he is so awesome! He loves to talk...dada, nigh nigh, yeah!, and what sounds like hiiiiii....he loves me to read to him...I generally read Good Night Moon (while he holds another book so we don't fight over who gets to hold the book I am reading)...he gets really excited when I say "good night, moon." he makes a fist and says "ah!"..then I read Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs....I love Sandra Boynton...he loves when I say, "Dinosaurs plump, and dinosaurs lean" I get a "ah!" again...

Micah is growing too fast...almost 9 months, and I am going to have to start thinking about his birthday...I thought for sure that it wouldn't go this fast...but it did...he is not interested in crawling, still hates being on his belly...but scoots around (backward) while sitting...and is still toothless...

...this past Saturday my Aunt Vernette, cousin Joe and his wife, Rhonda, Aunt Barb, cousin Julie, and her little boy,Linc, came to visit at my parents...it was so good to see them all...and I didn't have my camera. Julie's husband is soon graduating from, something that I can't remember enough to put into words...BUT they are possibly looking at Knoxville for job opportunities...I would be thrilled!!

I have fallen in love with sewing...it is something I have wanted to do for a long time, and really have enjoyed learning, playing, and making hand bags...

...and we are trying to finish up what has been an interesting "skeleton" school year....one child at a time, one book at a time...and we are getting closer...