Lots of Updates and Pics

A tired boy and his glow worm.

Zoe at the Greenville Zoo. She loves the elephants and the giraffes.

Northgate

Chocolate ice cream at Northgate

Wyatt determined to get on the chair himself

Apparently, small children get tired after climbing up onto chairs

Zoe and Wyatt in their shirts from Brooke and Brandon. (They just returned from Ethiopia where they are adopting a little boy...the t-shirts are from their fundraiser). The shirts read, "One less child without a family tree"

Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum (the elephant was Zoe's favorite, but in this picture both kids were asleep). I hustled to the Portrait Gallery so I could see some art exhibits before they woke up.

Wyatt is all smiles

The kids and the gazelles. Zoe was a huge fan of the gazelles. Apparently she is picking up some of the Dave Ramsey Show in the car.

Wyatt in the ERGO watching the Pandas. (Thanks Chris for loaning it back....lifesaver)

Zoe and Wyatt watching the elephant. One of their favorite zoo animals. They squished through the crowd and ducked under the information display to get the best view.

Zoe examining the elephant poop explorers zone. "Big elephants make big poop...little elephants make little poops, mommy."

Lunch at Cosi, next to a fountain (Zoe loves fountains...LOVES. Her favorite was the one at the White House).

National Zoo

Trippy the Unicorn

The sample unicorn from the store. I think Zoe's version is spot on.

Zoe on the couch after a long day in DC.

Wyatt watching the panda

I guess this is what happens when more than a month goes by without a post from me. A lot of stuff happens. Usually that is the definitive reason for long times between posts.

Zoe went to the ENT. One tube is out. The other is causing pain. But the only remedy is time. It seems to be bothering her less than before. Our hope is that in 6 months, the other tube will be out and we will be done with our visits to the ENT.

Our diaper castle won first prize at the baby shower.

Kevin's parents came up on a Sunday afternoon and stayed Monday. We managed to go out on a quick date.

My mom came up the next Sunday and watched the kids in the afternoon so I could go sell some of our baby stuff at a consignment sale. Cleaned up the house a bit. More baby stuff went to friends and family in Utah, Texas, and South Carolina.

A sleepover with the twins. Complete with a trip to the Greenville Zoo, thanks to a few free passes from a friend.

Lunch with Phil, Heather, and Jake at Mimi's. A phone call from Katie Marach out of the blue just to say hi and see how we were doing. We are trying to make a concerted effort to spend more time with friends. There should never be some task that becomes so important that you lose focus of relationships. Something is always going to come up, therefore we are making it a point to put friendships/family in a place of priority and take time.

We have started having dinner every Wednesday night with Elizabeth G and the twins along with several of their neighbors that we have spent time with over the last 5 years. Both the kids and adults are enjoying this time. Kevin will be joining us starting this week since his schedule has changed again. I think John will appreciate not being the only male over 1o years old. :)

School - Spring break was last week. The kids and I made the 8.5+ hour drive to Washington DC on Palm Sunday and returned on Saturday with my mom. The ride up only required three stops and Zoe had no potty accidents, a huge accomplishment. We visited Air&Space Museum, Natural History Museum, National Portrait Gallery, American Art Gallery, National Zoo, American History Museum, National Mall, and several of the war memorials and monuments. This week, I am a little tired. We all had a great time. My mom came with us sight seeing on Thursday and Friday. Then helped drive home Saturday. Now, I have 4 weeks left. The end is in sight. And the beginning of next semester is also in sight. I will get about two weeks between.

Northgate Soda Shop - Took the kids downtown. We are still looking for something fun to do on a regular basis now that Mable's is closed. It was a little pricey, but very cool. And the food was fantastic.

Volunteering - I totally recommend it to everyone. Honestly, helping someone who you don't know do something they otherwise could not do knowing there is no "return" to you gives a reward that I can't describe. I will be continuing at the free clinic and the hospital over the summer. Again, I think everyone can find a way to help someone. Even if it isn't formally volunteering or is a one day project type. Show your community that you love them unconditionally and that you are there for them. The church we have been visiting is participating in Hands on Greenville Day 2012. I will be hanging out at the hospital that day, but feel free to check out http://www.handsongreenville.org/ .

Church - Still visiting. Zoe loves her Sunday School class. She loves to sing and even seems to be learning this month's Bible verse. Although if you ask her, she will say no. She is more of a recite in the bathtub kinda girl. My parents and sister joined us at church for Easter. And the church just raised over $900,000 for a new church that is starting. Almost twice the goal amount. It was really exciting to be a part of this time in the church. We will be attending intro classes in the coming weeks to help us decide if this is where we will be putting down roots.

On a sad note, one of my friends from play group passed away this weekend. She and her children were in a car accident. The kids are fine and staying with family now. But Eileen did not make it. Please pray for this family. The father is in the hospital with cancer. Her kids are both younger than Zoe. My heart breaks for them. My kids have been getting lots of hugs and kisses this week. I may never know what tomorrow brings, but that helps me remember that every word I speak and every action today could be the last. I want my kids to grow up knowing they are loved and that they can always get a hug or a kiss. I want them to know that they are a part of our family. That they are valued. I want them to know that nothing they ever do is going to make me love them less. And that there is mercy and grace. (this is getting long and I am still thinking...so I will stop here and post later.)

Easter- Brad and Jenny had us over (along with the rest of my family). We all had a great time. It was fabulous to not have to cook and still be able to get Kevin to work on time after the meal.

Coming up: A quick two day trip to Atlanta filled with a visit from my grandmother from Wisconsin, a surprise for Kevin, and quality time for the kids with both sets of grandparents. Final exams and final papers the end of April. An important interview for school in May. Summer school.

I try to keep up with people on Facebook, but I feel disconnected when I am just reading. So feel free to text or e-mail.

“Prayer in action is love, love in action is service.” - Mother Teresa