Pictures Pictures

Anne enjoyed our spring festivities too!
After an egg hunt the kids planted flower seeds they found inside their eggs

The closest we came to a group shot with the children

Tucker, Grace, Grant, and Owen

Grace found an egg, sat down and ate the contents before getting a new one.

She didn't find very many eggs!

Grace did find a cupcake at one of our parties this weekend! That was after she jumped in the pool with her clothes still on!

Grant filled the eggs for the egg hunt.

Edwin and Grace blowing out the candles on our Happy Match Day Brownie Pie!

Thanks Susan for a delicious dessert.

We sang Wheels on the Bus while we rode the bus! How many times do you get to do that?!?

Drew gets his Match Day Letter.

(It's the only one I have for you Ashley! Hope you like it)

Edwin getting his Match Day Letter. Thanks for waiting to open it with eveyone!

John and Edwin....What a duo!

Susan, Grant, Grace, and Tucker.....eating snacks and waiting.

MATCH DAY!!!!!

TODAY'S THE DAY!!!

WE are moving to .....

IDAHO!!!!!

We matched in Idaho for 1 year and then we will be moving to Iowa for 4 years!

We are very excited to be closer to our family.

We have enjoyed Texas, but there's no place like home!!!

IDAHO HERE WE COME!!!!!

Still Waiting....

What creates this much excitement....?

Flying a kite by yourself of course!!!

It a rare thing to have wind so Edwin opted to buy a kite on a whim....it was a good investment. We've been flying kites while we wait for Thurs to come. Ah yes, blessed Thursday is nearly here and we will post our big news about residency! For now we will reminisce about our time at the zoo while we watched the baby elephant play with a tire and the baby orangutan climb in and out of a box! It was a great day to go to the zoo!

Protesting TLC Program!

Edwin and I were up late with our little Night Owl and happened to catch a new series that is starting on TLC called The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom. The advertisements for the show looked super cute and I thought "that looks like fun!" The series is about stay-at-home moms who are given the opportunity to work out of the home in their dream job for 5 days. The family was told that they were being filmed while mom went to a spa retreat for the week and dad gets to do all of mom's responsibilities. The episode we watched was a mom of four who wanted to be a police officer like her husband. When they got married they agreed that he would work and she would raise the family at home. They have a happy life together, but she still wants to know if she has what it takes to be an officer. She is enrolled in as a police cadet in California and is given a series of physical tests (including being sprayed directly in the face with pepper spray) and has the opportunity to ride along with another officer for the day. Yes, we enjoyed watching the program...until the end. Mom goes home to the family and tells them what she's really been doing for the week. The family watched video clips of mom as an officer. They were shocked to see some of the things she did, but they were glad she was safe and okay. All is well with the program up to this point. Then the shows host says "we have a surprise for you and mom doesn't know about this either." They proceed to offer her a place at the academy with a scholarship! They tell her she has to make a decision immediately and so they film mom and dad trying to make a major decision that will ultimately change the entire family. NO ONE can (or should) make those kind of decisions under pressure! You could see how much mom wanted this tantalizing opportunity and how much dad was opposed to it. He said he didn't want his wife to see the things he saw and experiences as an officer. I felt like the program was really about breaking up a happy home. It's terrible to me that a TV program is deliberately preying on stay-at-home moms and creating conflict in the home. Edwin and I were both quite upset at the end and it's a program I just can't watch again. Moms have it tough....it's the way it is. Some moms work because they have too. Others stay home even though they greatly miss the work force. Some moms work for their own interests. Whether working or not I feel that most moms want what is the best for their families. We don't need outside forces to entice us to do ANYTHING that is contrary to the happiness and success of our families. Here's a link from some random blog that put things together nicely http://www.careerandkids.com/the-secret-life-of-a-soccer-mom/

Wonderful

The Word of the Week: This week's favorite word is WONDERFUL!

Here are a couple of phrases from Grace in the past two hours

"Carrots for me to eat! WONDERFUL!"

"My pink coat with flowers for me to wear outside! WONDERFUL!"

"A yummy, crunchy cookie! WONDERFUL!"

Ah, it really is a wonderful life!

Anne has been able to wear ponies for several months now, but her hair is finally thick enough to hold them through church and two car rides. Cute Little Ladies!
Anne is helping Daddy do his morning Exercises!

Here is the real reason we have a laundry basket!

It is exciting to do things on your own. Anne loves to play in her bed since she has discovered she can pull herself up! What a Happy Girl!