Good for the Soul

Over New Year's, Nate said that skiing in Utah was "good for the soul." I felt that today. I was able to go running all by myself this morning (thanks to a friend who is doing a kid-swap with me). The last five minutes of my run it began to rain. It was about 55 degrees and the rain was soft...perfect! I love the smell of new rain and the feeling of a finished workout. I know my body is capable of healing itself and every time I push my body without injury I feel a small victory. I love feeling my quads burn (just a bit), my lungs fill with air and empty completely, my mind clear as I get outside my house and my world. Those few moments this morning were truly good for the soul.



These pictures were taken last fall at Elizabeth Park, just 1 1/2 blocks from our house. We love being so close to the park and when the weather is good, we go almost every day. There is a 1.2 mile loop around the park and it goes right along the Detroit River. There is a pony livery, great playground, skatepark, fishing and boats, ducks/squirrels/deer, nature paths, and lots of community activities. It just might be our favorite part of living in Michigan.

Easter 2009

This Easter has been fun and quite busy. The kids had a great, sugar-filled day. But we didn't just celebrate on Easter Sunday...we started on the Tuesday before Easter and didn't end until the day after. On Tuesday morning we got together with some friends and kids and dyed Easter eggs. Sarah and Grant both had a great time dying and eating the eggs.


Our next activity was the Marshmallow Drop at Elizabeth Park on Good Friday. A helicopter flies right over the park and drops what seems like millions of marshmallows. Then the kids storm the field to pick up as many as they can. The marshmallows aren't for eating....once we had some for Grant and Sarah we got into a long line and traded in the marshmallows for an Easter prize (crayons and a coloring book). The Easter Bunny did make an appearance, but Sarah made it quite clear that she didn't want to get near him. She kept talking about the Easter Bunny and Easter Frog (who knew?) that we saw at last year's egg hunt. They freaked her out then and apparently left a lasting impression. She also kept looking for her friend Max Joyner because he was at last year's egg hunt too. I wish Max were there too, but he still lives in Kirksville. The Marshmallow Drop was a lot of fun, but next year we'll be sure to dress a lot warmer. Luckily we live so close to the park that once we had our prize we were back home in just minutes. The helicopter dropping all the marshmallows...definitely Grant's favorite part.
Grant & Sarah (she's the one in a dress over her jeans...it's her latest stage) running to get their muddy marshmallows.


The next Easter activity was the quarterly Primary Activity. The Primary had arranged to have four people from the scriptures "visit" the children. They all shared their stories, testimonies of Christ's life, and the importance of the resurrection and atonement. It was a very neat activity and I was pleased that Sarah responded so well to it. A quick tender story: one of the "visitors" was the woman who touched the robe of Jesus and her lifelong sickness was healed. The woman then asked the group if they ever felt Jesus' love help them. Sarah leaned over to me and whispered that He did help her to learn how to use the potty. I love that even in her short little life Sarah is gaining her own testimony of the Savior. I love this one. Grant is actually looking over at the dog down the street.I love Grant's outfit. I bought it all last summer and was so excited to pull it out for Easter. The sad thing is that when I put the saddle shoes on Grant he bucked like crazy. I still shoved his feet in and he wore the shoes for church. When we finally took them off his feet were completely red. Poor guy...looks like he needs new church shoes.I just love this one...these two love playing together and I think this is an adorable shot.

Easter Sunday started with finding hidden baskets and a small easter egg hunt at home. Then we went to church, had naps, and went to an Easter dinner at a friend's house. I made the traditional bunny cake and the kids had a great time decorating it. We had another egg hunt. Grant was much more interested in opening the eggs as he found them, but Sarah proved to be a great hunter...must take after her daddy! It's so nice to have great friends in the area to celebrate holidays with.
The traditional bunny cake...the kids couldn't get enough candy and junk on it. I didn't even get a piece--actually, I didn't even want a piece. But the kids sure loved it!No one had plates--they all just dug in.Love that face....full of bunny cake and couldn't be happierGrant wanted to open each egg as he found it. I also love that he still had a car in his hand the whole time. Sarah was an old pro this year....check out that speed!


Since we didn't dye eggs as a family before Easter, we did it for Family Home Evening after. I was actually very impressed with Steve's level of dedication and skill. Apparently, he takes egg dying very seriously and it shows! We chose to take the kids' clothes off due to what happened when we dyed eggs with our friends. Sarah loved helping Steve put the wrap on the eggs in boiling water.
Grant was just happy to have a plastic egg filled with chocolate.
I love how Sarah is looking up at Steve in this one.Concentrating.
And the finished product.

First, Grant loves trains. We are lucky enough to live by some major train tracks. We get stopped by trains quite often, which for the normal person is an annoyance. But for Grant, it's the highlight of his day. He points and makes his train sound (which sounds more like "shhhh shhhh" than "choo choo") then makes the motion of pulling the whistle. Because of his fascination with trains we've been reading our two train books over and over and over. I love to see him get excited about something and be able to express it. It's no secret that I'm a bit worried about his speech, but I think he'll be just fine. He totally understands what we're saying. It's just that he has a tough time forming the appropriate sounds. I guess I'm starting to understand what the different grunts mean. He does do a few signs (please, more, thank you), but only when it involves something tasty, like chocolate pie! But his favorite word/grunt is for the train or car.
Second, because we've been reading our train books Sarah has learned a wonderful life lesson. We love to read The Little Engine That Could. The other day I told Sarah that she had to use the bathroom before having her nap. She told me that she didn't have to go, but I insisted and she ended up sitting on the pot. I left her alone to clean up the kitchen and I could hear her repeating something in her little squeaky voice. I snuck over to the bathroom and heard her saying to herself, "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." My heart melted. She is so sweet and tender. I just love her!