May 2018

1- Dada took all the big kids out to lunch during April. The first was Pella's day!

2 - Pella earned her Awana pin!

3 - Tuff's lunch date with Dada.

4 - Berg and Pella both used special helper rockets to buy rewards from the Special Helper Rocket Store!

6 - Tague Family Dinner while Poppie and Nonnie were in Italy.

9 - One of our Awana Leader Dinners

10 - 12 - Kivi's Mission to hatch a goose egg. And Jasper found her a lost duckling to raise. Sadly both endeavors failed days later.

 

12 - Down and Dirty Mud Run with the Adams and Kinneys! We practiced for this by running a mile every morning! I only fell once, while wearing Flint in a front pack, right in front of everyone turning into the elementary school!

13 - Mother's Day & our 18th Anniversary (But we celebrated that in England!)

14 - 15 - Berg's 8th Birthday at Great Wolf Lodge!

Berg we are blessed to have you as our son! You are loving and kind and helpful. You say tons of verses in Awana, love to play games, both video and board and usually win! You are a great reader and are zooming in math. You still love to give things away and share. You moved into the room downstairs with your big brothers on the top bunk. We are excited to see how you grow, Berg, in your kindness, love of others and God's word. 

20 - Mystery Boat of Mysteries (Berg's the lookout.)

25 - Nonnie and Poppie give basket of presents after they get back from Italy.

25- June 1 - Dada goes to Lodge Boy Reunion in Denver and then to a work conference in Orlando.

30 - My Awana Youth Leaders - our new program this year for Middle and High schoolers serving in Awana!

31 - Italian Sodas!

April at home 2018

8 - extra seven kids - looks the same to me!

10 - the boys dig, clean & dance

16 - Kivi dissects her pregnant rat!


17 - new bees in the hive


19 - Poppie time!


21 - Grandpa time!


23 - Swiggy's first food!

RipSoccer and jumping on double trampolines.



29 - cousin love

Resurrection Sunday 2018!

Race for the Big Basket!

Swiggy's First Easter!

Close-ups of all my cute babies. 

Family Picture in the Gym - which is where we have church services - because our traditional Chapel steps have been torn down for our church's remodel.

All the kiddos on the front porch swing after service, because they sure don't fit in the basket anymore!!

Hairy End of March 2018!

March 22 - Best Brother Babies

and HAIR... I'm mean Hail!!

March 23 - Sweet  No-Haired Swiggy, plays with toys now! And really likes his feet too!

March 23 -25 - Ocean Shores mini trip. We followed a bunch of deer on our walk. The rest of this trip was sadly spent in sickness for Mama and Dada. The kids played lots of video games and watched TV. I didn't do anyone's hair.

March 28 - Crazy HAIR Night at Awana!

March 30 - The Sheep Farm with the Holmes  - the shepherd even gave us a HAIRy sheep pelt!

March 31 - Tuff's first HAIRcut! It was getting long. Dada said it was time and talked the boy into a haircut. Mama cried as she cut.

Boy bath time and then an egg hunt in the backyard. Pella had been with a friend at the circus and they got their faces painted.

Coal Birthday & Flint Dedication!

On St. Patrick's Day we had Coal's 2nd Birthday and Flint's Baby Dedication at church. 

We danced and watched Coal beat box, had corn beef and cabbage, and corn dogs for the kids. Everyone got into pairs and had to find every color of the rainbow. Buggy and Tuff won and got to "taste the rainbow"! Then we had much dessert - Pie, truffles, cake and rice crispy treats!

Coal, you cutie! You are a mysterious little man. You love your siblings. You love to be with Kivi and want to be like Tuff. Your favorite thing is your rainbow nay-nay - which was a birthday gift for Kivi! You also like to beat box especially in your car seat! You are actually pretty quiet and don't get into much trouble, but when you do, you are quick to say sorry and sit in time out well. You also like trains, going outside and snacks! You still have to go to the Dr. to get your enlarged heart checked out regularly, but you're doing great! We love you, our miracle baby! May God use your big heart for Him!

After a group and family photo we headed to church and then to Flint's Baby Dedication!

Flint, the life verse we chose for you is Psalm 27:3-4 "Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple."

Your Blessing:

To our son, Flint:

We want so many things for you, beautiful boy: a life full of peace, comfort, joy, love, health, success, to protect you from pain and heartache. These are not gifts that we are able to promise you. So we dedicate you, Flint, to our Heavenly Father.  We commit you to the one who can provide all that you will ever need, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, who began to knit you together before we even knew that you existed. We give you to God, not because we believe it will make your life easier, but because we believe that only He can give you the life that truly matters.

May God grant you unwavering faith, and may you always have the confidence to know that He will supply all of your needs.

May God grant you His strength to stand for what is right, even when those around you do not and the cost for doing so is dear.

May God grant you the compassion to see people around you the way that He sees them and to love them accordingly.

May God grant you the ability to forgive, and may you never forget the price paid to forgive you.

May God grant you clarity to discern the truth, even when the prince of this world makes accepting lies so much more comfortable.

May God grant you His joy, and may the Joy of the Lord overflow from you and be shared with others, even when surrounded by unhappiness.

May God grant you His light, that you may always be a light in a dark world that points others like a beacon to the grace offered through Jesus Christ.

And finally, may God claim you as His own from this day forward, and may you cling to Him and seek His will above all else.  Today, we hold you in our arms as our son. Our greatest desire, the blessing we most want for you, is to also know you eternally as a brother in Christ.