T-Ball and Dance and Soccer, Oh My!

Nathanael has begun t-ball! He was soooooo very excited to start his first team sport. He was happy about practice, but was really excited to get his hat and t-shirt. He's happy about opening day this Saturday, but REALLY excited about the free donuts the players get.

Loyal Fans

So far it's the typical t-ball. One kid throwing dirt, one kid picking grass in the outfield, one kid on first pretending to 'shoot' everyone else with his imaginary gun. It can be very cute or very frustrating depending on my mood. Mostly it's the parents that get under my skin. Two girls sat while they were supposed to be in the field because they ONLY wanted to bat. And sure enough, the parents allowed it. What?!!

Two weekends ago, Madison danced at her competition #3. Her group dance did so, so but her duet did VERY well. They scored high and also received special judge's recognition. The judge spoke very highly of the girls and gave them the 'Squeaky Clean' award, meaning their steps were right on!!



Then over this past weekend, she danced her fourth and final competition. This time, the group dance did better than the duet. They scored Platinum and took 1st for their category.

Madison and I went to this one on our own and also took her little dance partner with us. The boys stayed back to do yard work and an impromptu barbeque. Temps surpassed the 90 degree mark, so the kids got to make the official start to 'swimming season'. April 26th was their first time jumping into the pool. Since then, they've been for a dip every day, including when it was only 65 outside...crazy kids!

Laurie kept the boys for an hour or so while Colombo needed to be at the church, so when I picked them up at her house after competition, this is what I found:

Saftey First!....How cute is he?!

Since Madison had missed the first swim in our pool, she opted to jump into the O'Connor's when we got there. You can tell here in the video how 'refreshing' the water was.


And finally, C4 has begun soccer for the first time. He had his first practice and seemed to really enjoy it! It was a nice evening, so the whole fam watched and ate our picnic dinner.

So it's been busy, but spring is here and that makes all the running around seem more enjoyable.

Cast Party

One week post production, we hosted the cast party! I think we had roughly 80 people here. Maybe 30ish kids and the rest adults. Thankfully, the weather allowed the kids to be outside the WHOLE time. Some adults stayed out near the fire pit, and the rest were happy to be brushing shoulders inside. Everyone brought a dish to share and I think everyone had a good time. It's wonderful to have the space to allow for these kinds of things.

Jen (Mary Magdalene), Melissa (ensemble), James (James), James (James Son of Alphaeus)

Jonathan (Jesus) and girlfriend, Ariel

Scary Smart

We've always known that Nathanael is smart. Since birth, he's had a serious, thinking side to him. Most of the time he is laid back, carefree, and funny, but then he has times where you can tell the wheels are just cranking in his head and you can almost see the steam and smell the smoke.

He has disguised his genius well. Sometimes his 'thinking' appears to be him just 'spacing out'. His slow pace also masks his smartness. It takes him a LONG time to put shoes on and get in the car. His randomness can also throw you for a loop. Last night, I was talking to all the kids about movies they've seen lately. Nathanael, out of nowhere, announces, "I was 3 when Madison was 5." At another point, totally off subject, he says "I think I'll be a professional DS player." It's these moments of randomness that hide the fact that he really is a smart kid, despite the fact that he often has food on his face!

This year in Kindergarten, he has 'caught' every concept I've thrown the 1st time. He's reading above grade level and is probably bored with a lot of the schoolwork I give him. In the last two days, he has "scared" us. Madison (in 2nd grade) has been learning her multiplication tables over the last couple weeks. Nathanael has only overheard the instruction, but has already surpassed his sister in his understanding of the subject.

Madison will do her flashcards with him. He now knows through the 3 times table. The scary thing is that he doesn't just memorize the answer, he gets the concept or the meaning behind them. He had us laughing today as he freaked us out figuring out why 8 x 3 = 24 and why 7 x 3 is simply 3 less than that. And if 3 x 10 is 30, then it's obvious to him that 11 x 3 is just 3 more.

So my dilemma is what to order for curriculum next year. I may just review the grade one text and see if he can handle grade two math.

Now if we could just get him to use a napkin at dinner, we'd be all set!

New Plates

My friend, Laurie, and I made plates for the kids as a surprise for Christmas, but when they did not arrive on time, we got the families together on New Year's and gave them to them.

Then we made a second batch for Easter. Well, again, they came about 4 days too late, so the O'Connors came over for a cookout and we surprised the kids again. C4 got Star Wars Lego. Madison got a copy of the self portrait she drew. Nathanael got a CT license plate that reads 'Fan-Man' and Trevor got Barney.

K-9 Field Trip

We took the coolest field trip to the East Hartford Police Station. The first 1/2 was a tour of the station, learning about law enforcement, detective work, seeing the holding cells and dispatch center. It was awesome for both the kids and adults; all very intriguing. The building is only 5 years old and is a 'model' in the region because of its design and safety features.

The second 1/2 was a K-9 demonstration. This is Axel.

He is four and comes from Czechoslovakia. Many K-9s come from Europe because they are working dogs. They love to work. He cost $5,000 plus another $15,000 in training. He eats raw chicken and steak. He was the sweetest, friendliest guy until instructed otherwise. Then he turned into a vicious, foaming at the mouth, scary beast.

The K-9 officers each have a dog and they are trained to be a team. The dogs are not interchangeable among the officers. One dog, one dad, 24-7, at home and work. We saw him find 3 hidden pieces of evidence, track a bad guy, and other command obedience.

After this demo, the officer with the protective sleeve showed us how even through the gear, you could see the bite mark, which was already turning purple and the broken button on his sleeve. His whole arm was beet red.

Spring Clean-Up

Colombo put together a list / budget of spring projects that need to be done around the house. Once that guy makes a list, things begin to happen. He's been a hard-working man this week.

One big item was getting the pool open, evaluated, cleaned, etc. It's been closed for a year and a half, and never having owned a pool ourselves before, we didn't know what all it would take.

He plays hockey with a guy who owns a pool company in town. Colombo called him and he and his partner came over to take care of us before their very busy season kicked in. It seems as though everything is in working order and the 20+ gallons of chemicals they dumped in should improve the water soon. (These 2 pictures were taken one day apart and you can already see a change in the color.)

I feel fairly confident that April 13th will be a long-standing record for the earliest opening for us! Anyone up for a swim? I know the kids would jump in if I let them.

Another item on the list was the elimination of a couple trees that are dead. He had an arborist come out a few weeks ago and this hideous-looking thing had some sort of disease, so I was thrilled to have it go! Colombo and our neighbor, Bob, were able to drop it in a few short minutes.

Next on the list...fix the broken light out front.

Finally...a bike rack for the garage. This one houses nine bikes. Daddy says if he finds a bike NOT on the rack, it will be locked to the rack for an undisclosed amount of time.

34 Weeks

I'm starting to feel like the end is coming. I'm not impatient, I just feel like I should really start washing all the onsies and newborn clothes, put some diapers out, find the car seat, decide on names...those kinds of things.

At my check-up, the Dr. felt like the head was down. I pray it stays that way, since I've had two babies flip breech late in pregnancy, C4 resulting in a c-section. I was relieved to hear that so far, it seems as though he or she is cooperating.

The Dr. also guessed that he or she would be 7-8 lbs. at birth. Not a very scientific guess, but sounds good to me.

I feel awesome. I love getting my little 20 minute siesta with Trevor in the afternoon. If I miss that, I drag through the later part of the day.

In the morning, I feel great! My belly seems compact and I have tons of energy. Sometimes by about 10:00 pm, I feel like my belly has doubled in size, I'm falling out of my clothes, and getting off the couch seems difficult. It seems like everything unravelled through the day, but then the next morning, I feel great again.

I'm still lovin' every minute of it and have nothing to complain about.

Easter Weekend

PART 1

On Saturday morning of Easter weekend, Ninny and Papa invited us over for brunch, an egg hunt, and Easter baskets. Although the weather forced us to do it inside, the kids had plenty of fun searching for their eggs.

After a lovely visit with them, we headed home for naps...well at least for Trevor and myself.

Then we worked to get everyone into Easter outfits, snapped a few pictures, and off to church. We usually attend the Saturday night service. The only time all year that going to church on Saturday is weird to me is Easter. There's something very special about Easter morning at church, and something definitely gets lost in translation on Saturday night.

PART 2

We spent Sunday morning relaxing, filling eggs for another hunt, pancake breakfast, Scrabble. Then we headed down to Lisa's for brunch and the traditional egg hunt, this time outside- 40 degrees, but sunny.

The kids came into the kitchen and immediately began trading loot...the little kids wanting all the candy, the big kids wanting all the money. In the end, everybody was happy and this is what was left:We also had a birthday cake for the April babies, Shaun, Tony, Madison, and Chris. Despite all the fun and festivities, we were very clear with the kids that the reason for the celebrating was to rejoice that our Savior was risen!!! And because He lives, we are redeemed. He bore our sins on the cross and rose victorious over the grave that we, too, might have eternal life.

The Passion of the King

Our church just completed seven performances of "The Passion of the King", an epic musical written and produced by Brent Grosvenor, who goes to our church. This was the second year that I was his assistant producer and that has really been my main focus over the last two months. It's a ton of work and a lot of hours, but completely worth all of the effort.

Madison (center)standing on the Pillar for King David

Madison listens to Jesus' teaching about having faith like a child.

Madison played the same part that she had last year. She was in 6 scenes, most of them just briefly, but also had several lines. And this year, both C4 and Nathanael joined the kids' cast.

The first video is a snip it of Scene 2, "He is Our King". Madison is standing on the pillar in front of the guy with the dark costume.

The second video is a snip it of the kids' scene. Nathanael is in the green on the left, front. Madison is toward the middle-right with the blue head covering. C4 is in the center, but toward the back holding a sword.

After the final performance on Good Friday, Lisa and I snapped some pics in the atrium.

In front of the marquis

The 3 little actors

This was a family effort. The kids sacrificed time with me and Colombo stepped up and filled the gaps around the house. Nearly 5,000 people saw the show and we pray that many families were deeply impacted.

Maddy-Girl Turns 8

Checking out her new 'birthday book'.

My sweet, little Madison is eight! Just too hard to believe! It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, adjusting to life with two kids, and learning to cope with her terrible colic. (But let's focus on the happy part of the story!)

Since then, she has developed into the most precious little girl. She is kind, considerate, wise beyond her years. She's helpful and jumps to tasks without being asked. She is passionate about God and has immense compassion for others; to the point that I cannot take credit. To be quite honest, I have a lot to learn from her! And I sometimes am intimidated by the responsibility I have to continue to nurture her spirit and not crush it.

On top of all that, she is physically beautiful with big, blue eyes and great hair! She's smart and talented...the whole package. I'm incredibly grateful to God for loaning her to us and entrusting us with her care. She is indeed a very special girl and I'm very proud of her.

Her birthday landed on a Monday (April 6th) sandwiched between 'Passion of the King' performances, so I planned a 'lay-low' kind of day that turned out to be very special.

Uncle Nicky had spent the night, so I made some last minute calls on Sunday and asked people to come to surprise Maddy for a big breakfast. Since most of our family do not have traditional 9 to 5 jobs, Monday morning worked well!! When the doorbell began ringing at 9:00, Madison was surprised to see more guests. Gramma and Bobby, Pop and Kiki, Lisa and her girls, and Ninny all came to join us for a breakfast feast and gifts.

Madison blew out candles on the coffee cake for breakfast.

After guests left, Colombo and I took our 4 kids, plus Avery and Amanda to Chuck E. Cheese, another surprise.

The kids had a blast!

Then back home for a quick snack and naps. After I snoozed for a bit, Madison and I played her favorite card game together.

Lisa and the girls left, and just our family headed to the Outback (Maddy's choice) for an early dinner and had Dairy Queen ice cream cake delivered by the staff singing "Aussie, Awesome Birthday!"

The boys split for hockey try-outs and Madison and I went to the mall to pick up a book she'd been wanting. Then we went and got her summer sandals. At home, she thanked me for 'the best birthday ever'. Although we didn't do anything 'major', she liked the element of surprise throughout the day.

Ebay Store

The kids have decided to sell some of their stuff on Ebay for money. Being the entrepreneur that he is, my husband has encouraged them. He said he would help them set up an account. Then I hear, "Mom, Daddy said that we can use your camera to take some pictures."

Ha!! I don't think so. Well, they pressed me and not wanting to discourage them, I gave some clear instructions and sent them on their way. The next morning while downloading some pictures, I found about a dozen similar to these:

How cute is that!!!