Sweet Blessings

A friend of mine from church lives next to a farm, and they give her their leftover berries every season. I guess she gets more than she can use, so she asked if I wanted some! Of course, I said "yes", and then ended up with 17 POUNDS of strawberries! What a blessing! They were in danger of quickly becoming overly ripe, so I had to come up with an immediate plan of action. After the kids had eaten their fill, I hulled, chopped, and prepared the rest to be freezer-packed. Hubby made some yummy smoothies, and we're planning on more of those in the future! I also baked two loaves of strawberry bread, and it is so scrumptious! I use Eagle Mills Ultragrain flour, to pack an additional nutritional punch. Healthy kids are happy kids! ;-)

Blooming Bouquet

God led me outside this morning, and I noticed that our trellis has a literal "bouquet" of flowers bursting upon it! It was so neat, that I had to take some pictures and share them. The kids all love flowers, and we are keeping an eye on the geraniums that we planted, the tiger lilies, and soon the sunflowers will be bobbing their sunny heads!

Daniel, Daddy's "mini-me"

We found a random memory stick that Christy used in her old camera, so I looked through all of the pictures to see if there was anything that caught my eye. Here is a picture of Daniel, around the time he turned 2 years old. He just melts my heart with his big, brown eyes! He looks so much like Eric...and acts like him also! I love all of my boys so much!

Standing on Their Own

The twins have been gaining confidence in their mobility lately, and they like to give mommy a scare almost every day! They both stand on their own now, without holding onto anything. Tom has taken one or two steps, but then he loses balance and falls down. Troy, my little monkey, is always climbing everything! He can use any item to get a "leg up", and then he will get onto the couch, or as you can see from the picture below, he will climb up to view something that he can't otherwise see. I'm glad that they are doing well at reaching their developmental milestones, but sometimes I think it was easier on me when they were stationary! ;-)

Crafton Crochet

Last summer, Grandma Becky came to Minnesota for a visit, and taught Christy how to crochet! She also offered to teach me, but I wasn't ready to learn something new at the time. I had my hands full just trying to keep up with the twins! However, now that life has settled down a bit, I have finally given in to Christy's pleas to teach me crochet! She is an excellent teacher, and after only a few days of 30-minute classes, I can chain stitch, single crochet, and double crochet! It is fun to spend time with my oldest daughter doing something that we both enjoy, even though she works on more complex projects while I practice the basics (the last picture below is my practice start). We are both looking forward to the next time Grandma Becky comes out for a visit so that she can see how we are doing, and give us lessons on more advanced techniques!

Twins' Check-up

The twins had their 9-month check-up yesterday, and they are doing great! They are both almost 20 pounds now, although Troy is 11 oz. behind Tom in weight. The pediatrician seemed impressed that they are both already pulling up to standing, cruising, and even Tom will stand for a few seconds without holding on to anything! I am so thankful that they are healthy, happy, and doing so well! Here is a cute picture of Becca holding Tom (left) and Troy (right):

Happy Easter!

We had fun celebrating Easter this Sunday! We colored eggs, enjoyed Easter Baskets, and had a wonderful time at Church celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is risen!