Random April Pics

Another month come and gone. The following are some shots from this past month that were just fun and too cute not to share. Lydia now likes to wear her sunglasses in the car. :-)

Air Care! I don't know why but this just brings me so much joy!

 Our cutie Carrie...

 We woke up one morning to find this outside our window- exciting!!

 Classic...and too cute.

 Care hanging out with her cousins, Matthew and Rachel.

 The weather is finally warming up- which means we are getting out! I made it to our mailbox before Care had a meltdown. We'll take it.

 Lydia in her Sunday best!

 Care having dinner at a restaurant- her first time sitting in her own big chair (in her Bumbo).

 Daddy and his Care.

 Cinnamon rolls! (A Sunday morning tradition)

 Carrie hanging out.

Sweeties... all three of them. :-)

Easter!

We went to an egg hunt with Pieter and Sarah at Highland Hills church. The kids had a blast. It was a wonderful event that brought the true message of Easter to those who attended.

Decorating eggs, another fun activity.

After decorating some eggs we had a small egg hunt outside.

Swinging with Grandpa!

We also got together with all the cousins for yet another egg hunt. Grandma got the girls matching dresses.

Grandma and Lyddi

Some of the boys wanted their picture taken too. Notice Blake shooting his toy mid-picture. :-)

Getting all the cousins together to explain the rules of the egg hunt.

Here they come!!

 After the hunt we tried to get all the kids (minus Carrie, who was napping) together for a group shot. Getting everyone to cooperate is...uh...a challenge. There is so much happening in these photos. I love it.

Smile Sarah! Can you see Blake? He's hiding in the background.

See ya, Bryson!

 Over here Grandpa!

Where's Matthew?

 We'll take it!

 Speaking of difficult family shots, here we are trying to get ours in for the day.
Try #1: Three out of four eyes closed.

 Try #2

 #3

 #4

The last two shots are pretty great!

Tadah!

We had an awesome Easter service in the morning. I got to give a children's message, which was really fun. I made these little tombs for the kids, and also made one for each of my nieces and nephews. It's an edible tomb that is empty, to reinforce that Jesus is Risen!
Nowdays Easter seems to be full of bunnies, chocolates and egg hunts. These are all good things, but don't touch the depth of the true reason to celebrate! We are so grateful to share the wonderful, deeper meaning behind the day. Jesus Christ conquered death and rose from the dead...for our sake! Praise God for His abundant grace and love!

He is Risen...

He is Risen Indeed!

Four Generations....

Carrie is 7 months old now and had yet to meet her Great-Grandma Eerdmans (my mom's mom). So we had to remedy that. I invited my mom and grandma over for a morning together. We even got a game of Scrabble in while Care was napping.

 So sweet.

Thanks for coming over Grandma. We love you!

Roo's in Town!

I got the best surprise this past month...a surprise visit from my dear Roo who lives in West Virginia!! She was in town for her spring break (unknown to me). She was in cahoots with Zach to surprise me. She called me in the afternoon and said, "Can I use your bathroom?" I responded, "What are you talking about?!" Then I heard our doorbell!! What a wonderful treat!!

You know how there are people in life who you just click with? That's Roo. We seem to always be on the same page, and if not, we can meet in the middle. Whenever we talk, it's real and authentic friendship...through the joys and uglies of life. 

 We even got to have a delightful dinner out together. It was so wonderful to connect, laugh and pray together again, in person. We typically do these things over the phone, but in person was even better! Thank you Lord for the gift of wonderful friendship and a true sister in Christ.

Just for Kidz!

Another awesome this past month was going to a gym called Just for Kidz. They have open gym (with parental supervision) for toddlers Thursday mornings. So we went three times. The first time we met my friend, Heidi, and her little guy, Colton. The kids had a blast. And I got a great workout hoisting Lydia through the bouncy house obstacle course.

Trying out the rings.

Lyddi's favorite, "Jumperine!"

The kids had a great time jumping into the pit.

Children's Museum

This month brought another three trips to the wonderful Children's Museum. Carrie even came along one time. I usually leave her home with a sitter so she doesn't miss her nap. Lyddi was ready to do her sisterly duty of pushing Carrie in the stroller.

 Going down the slide.

 Carrie even got in a little snooze, until some loud boys ran by screaming. Grrr.....

 Lydia loving the ball toy.

We met up with a couple girlfriends and their kids one morning. Lydia was super pumped to play with her buddy, Micah.