Spring is here!

why daddy, your bbq chicken sliders and red cabbage slaw look so good. . . 

if only i hadnt had this half a stick of butter as a snack, while mommy was taking a shower!

i didnt order another month of kiwi crate, but they sent me this month's anyways. one of the activities was making paper, which patrick did with them last weekend. (While i windowshopped, went to walmart, and got coffee. ALL BY MYSELF. thank you, patrick!!!!!) 

the other project was hand stamping these recycled bags. they provided these leaves and pressed flowers you were supposed to press into clay to make a stamp, and then decorate your bag. totally didnt work. the focus was on earth day, so i cut up potatoes into shapes and they stamped the bags with that. its earthy enough, right? ;-)

we believe in gender neutrality, around here. HA! thats a joke. but for some reason, caroline loves charlie's underwear. so far she has never gotten into hannah's, just charlies. nearly every day i go into their room, and charlie's underwear is strewn around the room, where caroline's been trying it on! 

we have been praying that our van lasts until we leave for the field. feel free to join us in that! it had a few rough days this week, but i do believe all is in working order now. (and thankfully, it decided to refuse to start for me while in the garage getting ready to leave, not while stuck in a snowstorm somewhere)

if you can ignore the bobcat picking up the limbs, in the background, enjoy this scene: my children (and an extra friend) having a picnic at the park! which we can walk to. the plethora of playgrounds is a really nice thing about this town. it is supposed to get cool again, but this weekend is beautiful!

pretty much the only pictures i have with my kids are selfies. 

it is going to take the city (and volunteers) a long time to get things cleaned up, but i think they are doing a good job. 

Daddy's making pancakes; must be Saturday morning! (or waffles. this house has all kinds of neat appliances, like a waffle maker)

Friends, oh how we love friends. . . 

especially friends who make us smores!

This is our pastor and his wife, Jonah and Jessica. She is also Canadian. They have 3 little girls, one a newborn. Tonight they had us over for a casual backyard hotdog roast. It was so much fun. Let's not use our lack of time/space/resources/energy as reasons not to connect and spend time with others; it is so important and worth it! Thanks, guys. 

Say, "marshmallow!"