Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend.  Allen had a four day weekend which was much needed by this mommy.  We had a great time being together as a family and getting some last minute driving lessons in. We took our UK driving test yesterday and both passed!!  I know this sounds silly but the driving test is serious business here.  It was a fourty minute test and one that many don't pass the first time around.  ANYWAYS it is OVER!!!! 

I feel a bit like a bad mom. The boys did not get Easter baskets again this year(haven't done one yet for them).  Ben's birthday was last week and he got so many presents that it seemed to just be another thing to do and for him to think that at every turn he was supposed to get a present.  We also went to two easter egg hunts so they got plenty of candy from that.  Anyways, I see all these blogs and pictures with Easter baskets and think, "should I have done something?"  But in the end, they are never going to remember and it would have just been one more thing for me to do.  So, maybe next year...

Oh, and I got no pictures of Easter Egg hunts!  I even organized one for our neighborhood but was too busy doing stuff to get any pictures.  However, other people got pictures, so I just need to get them from them. 

We had a lot of rain this past weekend which doesn't make for very good indoor pictures.  The boys are having some really sweet moments together right now.  Ben had his "pack pack" on and Nate was asking for his "pack pack" which was upstairs.  Ben came over to me and asked really nicely if I would go upstairs and get Nate's "packpack".  What makes this even sweeter is that they are both technically Ben's backpacks and he knows it but he is sharing!!  So, here they are wearing backpacks together.  Love the sweet moments where they love on each other.

 

Ben is 3!

Ben turns three tomorrow!  Where has the time gone?  We celebrated with a few of his friends yesterday.  I wish I had tried to get a picture of all of them together.  I did not even try it but now I wish I had.  I am sure it would have been crazy but this is the first birthday where he has chosen who he wanted to come to his party.  So, for memory sake, I am going to say who was there, Isaac, Benjamin, Hannah, Luke, Phillip, and Addy.  He invited Wyatt and Ayva but they weren't able to come.  It was the perfect size and they all had a great time playing in the garden.  I had pass the parcel ready to play but really they just wanted to play, so we let them. 



His Birthday Cake or really cookie

I had a lot of fun on Pinterest finding Car themed ideas

 

 

Not to self and anyone else, Marshmallow Fluff does not make the greatest rice krispy treats!  They were ok but not great.   

The birthday boy!!  He was so excited about the "box juice"!  I love how little things are so exciting to him at this age!

 

 

 

 

Ben, you are a delight and joy!  You love people and love life. 
We are so blessed to have you as part of our family!!  We love you!!
Daddy and Mommy

Hastings Half Marathon

Hastings Half Marathon...What do I say about you!  I am so glad I had no clue what the course was like!!  I did research and read about it and I had a few people tell me, "Oh, that is very brave, it is a tough course.." But I had no clue that at mile 9, YES, MILE 9, I would still be climbing uphill.  But I knew that if I went up then I would eventually have to come down and we did.  Oh, it was wonderful once we started the downhills!! 

This was a really fun race because of all the people along the course to cheer you on.  Bless those people that were handing out oranges!  I have never enjoyed an orange so much.

This is Grace and I before the race... wondering what in the world we had gotten ourselves into. 

The boys were great troopers and played at a park while we ran! 
I have the best husband for encouraging me to run races!

 

 

At the end!!  2:12!!!  Could not believe it.  Not the best picture but Ben wanted to see mommy, so Allen snapped a quick one, while holding Ben.  The best finish ever, seeing my hubby and Ben cheering me on at the end!!

 

 

 

 

It was a great race!!  The best part is realizing that even though I am a busy mommy, I can still run the race.  I love the time by myself.  As I was running up the hills that I thought would never end, the Lord brought to mind all the verses about running the race of life with perseverence.  We do not know the course laid out for us, but the Father does and he will give us the strength to handle what lays before us.  Sometimes, life is like miles 3-5 where it is just a slow steady uphill with no reprieve.  Sometimes, it is like miles 6-9 steep uphills with little bits of reprieve and lots of oranges and cheering along the way.  Oh, how I hope and pray that I will run the race with perseverence and at the end the Father will say, Well done my good and faithful child! 

March Fun

 

 

 

 

 

We have had some beautiful weather recently.  The last weekend in March, we had a fun Saturday out.  We started off with going to the Aerodome which we had heard about but had not been to yet.  It is a small local airport with small airplanes and helicopters.  It has a great outdoor area where you can watch the planes take off and land.  We have heard they have a great breakfast that you can eat outside on the picnic tables.  We will be back, I am sure!

From there we headed to Priory Park and had a picnic lunch followed by fun in the play ground.  The boys loved it!  Last year, Nate was at the eating sand phase so we stayed away from the playground.  Fortunately we are past that point!!  So fun to be outside in the sun!