We Found One....

Well, we found a house we like and put an offer on it April 5. It was accepted without any couteroffer and we have since had the inspection and all seems to be going even smoother than we could hope. There have been a few "extras" the homeowners have offered to include in the agreed-upon price if we are interested, including an extra garage refrigerator, a snowblower, a grill, and some prepaid lawn service. When we made the offer, I prayed that God would make it smooth and easy if this was meant to be, but I didn't expect all this. I am usually very nervous and hesitant about major decisions and big purchases, so I guess He was just trying to make it really obvious for me :) The listing has been removed from the internet since the house in under contract, so I don't have any photos to show, but stay posted. The closing is set for May 10 and we are hoping to do a little painting, carpet cleaning, and organizing before moving in over Memorial Day weekend.

Haircut

After getting a haircut shortly after moving to Minnesota, Conor decided he wanted to try growing his hair long for a while...like a surfer or hockey player. Well, when it started to get pretty shaggy, we made a deal that he could keep it longer as long as he got a haircut sometime around Easter or Riley's birthday. So after negotiating and pushing it off until the last minute, Conor finally got his haircut the day before Easter for the first time in six months. I must admit, although there were days when it really looked pretty messy, in some ways his long hair was kinda cute. However, look how much older he looks once it was cut...even more and more like a boy and less like a little kid. Ahhhh, he's growing up!

BEFORE

AFTER

Easter Egg Hunt

We had received a flier in the mail from a local church sponsoring an Easter Egg hunt, with Christian activities included so we thought we'd check it out. We believe it is very important to teach our kids about the true meaning of these important Christian holidays and to keep Jesus the primary focus without completely ignoring the other fun and festivities as well. This was the perfect balance. In addition to the egg hunt, there were live Holy Week characters and scenes to teach us about Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion on Good Friday, and Jesus' Ressurection on Easter Sunday. There were crafts and games and a petting zoo as well, and we brought home a goodie bag with more activities about how the church celebrates Easter. Very cool!

Armed with Easter baskets and breakfast on our way out the door

Making a keychain with each color representing something important like Hope, Sin, Forgiveness, the Blood Jesus shed for us, and Faith.

Showing off the new keychain craft and the cross made out of palms in front of the tomb with the stone rolled away...which we walked through to hear about the day Jesus rose from the dead

Hunting for Easter Eggs out on the playground

Found one!

Feeding the animals at the petting zoo

Holding the baby bunny

After we got home, I asked Conor his favorite part about the event and he said, "Finding the Easter eggs". When I asked his second favorite part, he answered, "Finding a lot of eggs!"

Fun with Grandpa

Grandpa loves to make these kids laugh. He does fun things like spin them and push them around the living room in boxes and play horsey while they ride up and down on his legs. Good thing he is a young, healthy, active grandpa. These grandkids are so fortunate!

Catching up...

I think I am now only a month behind...keep checking back. I hope to be caught up very soon!!! In the meantime, enjoy the new posts!

House Hunting

This was early in the day one weekend morning when we took the kids with us on one of our many house hunting trips. See how happy and cooperative they still look?!?

Conor found a park he liked in one of the neighborhoods we were looking at, so we stopped to check it out.

Saturdays

Our Saturday routine varies widely depending on what we have planned for the weekend and what the weather is like outside.

Some mornings are spent watching cartoons in our jammies, snuggling up with blankets and beanbags

Some days are spent outside from morning til night!

When Conor wore this shirt, Adam asked him what it said. Conor responded, "MOM'S LUCKY CHARM!" When Adam asked if that meant that he was his Mom's lucky charm, Conor quickly corrected him and said that the shirt actually meant that "I'm LUCKY because I can CHARM MOM into things!!"