Saturday, March 20, 2010

Now I Lay Me...

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
Guide me safely through the night
And wake me with the morning light
Amen

March, Come and Almost Gone

Can I say that I am so excited that March is almost over? We've had quite a busy month with Alan's 29th birthday on the 5th, to lots of school events and responsibilities, to two of the sweetest little girls being welcomed into the world (Sydney to the Byrnes' and Cadence to the Sharda's--congrats friends), to a few family outings (Meijer Gardens Butterfly Night and Finding Nemo on Ice!) Only two more weeks and we're into April AND spring break! We've also been (as best as we can) observing Lent--this year Alan and I decided that we didn't want to give something up, but actually add something to our lives. We've not been as consistent as we would have hoped, but we have been trying to spend daily quiet times reading the Bible and praying. Mars Hill, our church, also put out a Lent Calendar that I have been observing as well (things that the entire community could be doing together--check it out at marshill.org).

Kirra has definitely entered a new stage--one that we're not excited about--TANTRUMS! We are thrilled that it has taken her almost 30 months to get to this point and we are very aware that it is a normal part of her development, but we are also very adamant about the fact that there are other ways for her to get her feelings/thoughts across (and to be honest, she has really only had a few meltdowns) The public tantrum is the worst (like the one she had at Kohl's the other day where she completely fell apart because she didn't want to try on a pair of shoes), but this stage is also teaching us about how we need to be more intentional about Kirra's schedule/sleeping/feeding needs etc. I am hoping that this stage lasts only a short time and that by the time baby #2 comes in June she'll be tantrumed out! Wishful thinking?! :)

Below are pics from Nemo on Ice and our family night at Meijer Gardens (didn't get any butterfly pics cuz the place was PACKED):
Here's to another two weeks of March...and hopefully no more snow!!!

Like Daddy...

Like Kirra...
Sometimes I look at Kirra and wonder if there is ANY part of me within her little self! She certainly has a lot of her Daddy in her...including some of her more defined personality traits!

Traditions

For at least 6 years (I think) we have been taking time to enjoy the great outdoors with our dear friends Jen and Kevin Wolthuis. The first few years (before kids) were spent cross-country skiing either at Higgins Lake or at Boyne for a long weekend. Once the kiddos came along, we maintained the tradition, but expanded our adventures to Chicago (where Jen is from). This year, we went back to our roots, and enjoyed a nice weekend at my mom and dad's of yummy food, some skiing (Elinore is a great little pole-less skier) and some sledding on the pond! We even rented Kirra some of the smallest skis and boots available, however, our little princess did not want to partake--maybe next year! She sure did enjoy the backpack though! Unfortunately, we did not have the cameras out much, so here a few of the shots we actually took!
Kevin, Elinore, Alan and Kirra played some games while Jen and I whipped up our yummy dinner!

It's fun having kiddos who play so well together. Here're the girls exploring outside!

Thanks friends for such a great weekend!