Month in Review

April.

Ryder-22 mo.

-Fully submerge 2 whole rolls of toilet paper in toilet

-Dump out entire contents of Cream of Wheat all over kitchen and draw in it

-Color walls (with washable markers, various colors)

-Color his whole body (non-washable marker)

-Attempt to flush hair brush, toothbrushes, make-up, down toilet

-Flush rubberbands and bobby pins down toilet

-Dump out muliple glasses of water/milk/juice

-Dump out entire 1 gallon of apple juice all over kitchen floor

-Clog Toilet

-Replace old toilet

-Color on walls, once again

-Empty out contents of of Skylars RED paint all over my carpet

-Dump out Skylars nail polish on my floor

-Take 1/2 and 1/2 off counter and emtpy onto my floor

.....and this is just stuff off the top of my head.

He definitely gets plenty of spankens, however, doesn't seem to phase the darn kid...

Its a good thing, he's so stinkin cute!

Grandpa

My Grandpa passed away. Everything happened so fast. It seems like just a few days ago the Drs found a lump on his lungs...and were testing it to see if it was cancerous. What happened? All of a sudden he's gone. Even though his 88 years here were happy and full, and even though I know that He's in SUCH a better place, know that he's home, I still will miss him so terriibly. I will see him in every belt buckle I see, in every cowboy boot, in every silly piece of candy. I will hear him every time I walk in to my Grandmas house say "Hi my doll baby, there's my favorite girl (next to your Mother, of course)", I will see him through my Grandmas eyes when she thinks of him or tells stories of him. I will see him in the love of our family. The strength of our family. He leaves behind a strong legacy. Of friendship. Of faith. Of love. Of marriage. It is because of him we are who we are. My Grandpa was a great man. I celebrate his life, but i sure grieve the hole he's left behind.

Garden

Our Garden. Yep, we're gonna give it a shot. All the makings for salsa: tomotoes, jalepenos, cilantro. Green beans, zucchini, and basil. Starting small, if a success, then we've got plenty of room to grow next year. Just thinking of our very own Gafner salsa makes my mouth water....mmm...

Calebs Passtime

I'm sitting in the house and hear Caleb outside counting....so I went out to see what he was up to and this is what I find.....seems to be his new passtime. He does it now almost everday. Collecting snails from our plants...makes me happy to get them out of my pretty flowers and bushes....not happy to have them smashed all over the driveway. He collects, counts, smashes. Today I heard him count up to 21. Oi-e-vey.

Fluctuation

I was thinking tonight about what my body has gone through these past 6 years. And realized its really gone through the ringer. Bare with me here, I'm gonna take a trip down the past 6 years:

Got pregnant with Skylar-gained 50 lbs (don't know how it happened and really wouldn't wish it on anyone). Lost 20 lbs. Got pregnant right away with Caleb- gain back the 20 I just lost. Back to up 50. Move to Redding, join a gym, go crazy and lose 40 lbs. Feelin great. Get pregnant again with Ryder-Gain 25 lbs (not bad..worked my buns off). Lose 20. Blow a disc out in my back-gain 10ish. Lose 5. 6 more lbs to go. (Theres no way I'll EVER get back to my skinny pre-pregnancies weight...and I'm totally ok with that)

ALL IN 6 YEARS!!! MY POOR BODY!! But YAAY that theres an end in sight and no plans to get pregnant any time soon (plans for more kids...just not biological).

pic of Sean and I in Hawaii, pre pregancies

After Skylar, HOLY MOLY!! I came accross this the other day and jumped....

A little pice of Heaven

Climbing higher and higher on the lift. Looking back at the encridible views of the valley. Wind in your face. The rush of flying down the front of the mountain.
Today was one of those perfect days. No clouds, sunny, beautiful, crisp, fresh powder. What an encredible day. I needed it. I'm pretty sure theres gonna be snowboarding in Heaven.

Me and my Momma: 59 and snowboarding, shes amazing.
My nephew, Canaan.

Question

Question: Favorite Sunday?

Answer: Easter

Easter Sunday. Easily my favorite Sunday of the year. So much joy. So much celebration. This morning, as tired as I was, I woke up with so much joy. Kids hunted for thier baskets...joyful. Got ready and rushed out the door to be at church by 8:oo...joyful. Practice...sooo joyful. Church...ridiculous amount of joy.

Question: Why joy?

Answer: BECAUSE MY GOD, WHOM I LOVE AND SERVE AND LIVE MY LIFE FOR SACRIFICED HIS SON SO THAT HE COULD COME AND WALK ON THIS EARTH AND, OUT OF THE EXTREME AMOUNT OF LOVE HE HAS FOR US, DIE ON A CROSS. AND NOT JUST DIE AND STAY THERE...BUT DIE AND THREE DAYS LATER RISE FROM THE DEAD!!

And that amounts to my joy. I don't serve a dead God. I serve a God who is alive! and working. And moving. And stirring things up in His people. In me. I love that!! I love that we baptize on Easter Sundays. How awesome to put to death your old self and become a New Creation in Him on the day that we celebrate Him coming alive. I love our church. I love the family we have in our church. I love the joy I get from my God whos alive and my family He's placed me in.

I love Easter Sunday.