Calvin

I just want to take a second to brag about my husband. He's been incredible the past few months so I just thought I'd share. :)

The guy works incredibly hard - sometimes to the point of exhaustion. He's feeding out cattle, farming, and working his full-time construction business. Sometimes all of the long hours seem endless and I'd just like to have him to ourselves for awhile, but I know that he is working this hard to provide for us and to give us everything he can. 

He's a great dad and loves his kids so much. He tries to spend as much as he can with them and has made an effort to be around more this winter than he has in the past. Coye hears his truck and runs to the back door yelling "Daddy!" while the girls are just as excited as Coye is every night when Calvin comes home. They love to play farm and love following him around outside doing chores just as much.

He knows me so well and can pull things out of me even when I don't feel liking talking about it. He's been there so much for me these past few months as I've worked through some things and I can truthfully say that he's my rock and my safe place. I feel so much better doing things with him by my side.

He's caring and sweet. For my birthday (and mother's day and our anniversary this summer), he gave me a mother's ring that has our kids' birthstones plus three diamonds on it. It's gorgeous and the thought behind it is incredible. Add to that the fact that he came up with it on his own and designed it, and I was speechless!

Okay. Enough for now. I don't want him getting a big head or anything. :) But I am very lucky to have him as my own.

Spring and ... Snow?

Last week when Hannah was here, there was still some snow on the ground, but by Friday afternoon, it was pretty nice outside, so we took the kids out to get some fresh air. They were drawn to the snow piles that hadn't melted yet and immediately found some sand buckets and shovels to dig in the snow with. They had a blast digging in the snow, stomping through the mud and puddles, and walking in the snow. By the time we were ready to head inside for supper, they were filthy! Everyone had to be stripped down and their clothes were immediately thrown into the washing machine, but they had fun!

Talent Festival

The girls had their annual school Talent Festival last night. They love being crafty, so they entered multiple things. Chloe painted a small jewelry box, made melty beads, did a painting, and built a Lego set. Aubrey wrote a story, painted two ceramic horses, made melty beads, did a painting, built a Lego set, and played a piano piece. They both did great and really enjoyed making the things that they took. Aubrey had to play her piano piece for judges yesterday afternoon and then again last night in front of everyone who came to the Talent Festival. She was nervous, but she did a great job. I intended to videotape her, but when I started the video camera, it immediately shut off, so I didn't get her playing. I was sad, so I had her play it when we got home. Not quite the same, but it works.

Easter

We celebrated Easter and Jesus' rising from the dead yesterday! The kids hunted for the Easter baskets before we headed to breakfast at church. Calvin helped Coye find his basket with an outfit, fruit snacks, and a tractor set. The girls found theirs too after some hints (they had outfits, fruit snacks, and flip-flops in theirs). 

After breakfast and church, we took some quick pictures before going to mom and dad's for dinner.

Coye was very grouchy and not in the mood for pictures.

I wanted some pictures of all of the kids together, so we quick took some before we ate dinner.

My 3

Aubrey and Maximus

Elora, Jenna, Gabe, and Coye

Chloe and Colton

Coye got some candy while waiting

The grandkids (plus Jenna)

Gabe and Coye

It was so nice outside, so after dinner, the kids hunted for Easter eggs outside. Each kid was supposed to find 10 eggs, but we ended up not being able to find 3 eggs. Apparently Hannah, Danielle, and Jenna hid them too well. :)

Grandpa and Grandma came for Easter too. It was so nice to see them and spend some time with them. While they were here, we had to take our traditional photo of Chloe with her two namesakes.

Grandma also wanted some pictures with the adults.

We also celebrated Gabe's birthday. He turned 2 on Maundy Thursday, so it worked out perfect to celebrate while we were together. He loves Curious George, so we made him a Curious George cake.

Easter Eggs

Coloring Easter eggs is a tradition of ours. This year we headed down to mom and dad's to color eggs. Mom hard-boiled 36 eggs for the kids to color. They had a great time making designs and writing words on the eggs before coloring them. This was Coye's first time coloring eggs, so Papa helped him. He loved it!