My mother's day gift

On Mother's Day my big gift was an outdoor fire pit. It is so much fun! We have roasted hot dogs (Nora's idea) and s'mores (everyones idea). We have all missed camping so much just the smell of the smoke is comforting and relaxing.

Ahren's Confirmation

In the United Methodist Church the youth are given the opportunity to go through confirmation. It is a way to reestablish the promises made by families at baptism, and for the kids to take on a bit more responsability in their faith journey. They accept that they are now old enough and have enough information to decide if living a Christian life though their church is something they are willing to commit to. At the same time the congregation is asked to renew their promis to help and support the youth. Some kids choose to wait untill high school, but Ahren felt ready now. The boys went through 9 weeks of classes ( the woman in the picture above isn't one of the youth, she is our youth director) where they learned the different seasons of the chruch, how and why we celebrate certain things, the history of John Wesley, United Methodisim and our church here in Yakima. By the end of the process Ahren also had to write his personal credo explaining his beliefs. It was a very nice service on Sunday followed by cake, in true Methodist tradition - we do like to eat together! Ahren did a great job in leading the congregation in prayers and the call to worship. He also came all the way out of the 13 year-old funk to accept peoples congratulations and talk to everyone. There was a good deal of smiling from both the boys and their families. We are so proud of him.

What happened to Spring????

Today we woke up to cold overcast skys. Ahren, figuring it would warm up, left for the bus in shorts and no coat. Then around 7:45 am it started to snow!
Try explaining to a 4-year-old that it isn't winter when it is snowing like it's December. Tori is ready for another Christmas.
Last week we were playing in the backyard with frisbees and soccer balls. Today the daffodils look quite dejected, as if disapointed that they managed to bloom before the weather had figured out which season it prefers. I was hoping to till the garden spot tomorrow and maybe plant some peas when the kids got home. I refuse to give up hope, but the snow is starting to stick.

He is Risen Indeed

Happy Easter

Hope everyone had a great Easter. We spent the morning at church enjoying worship and fellowship with friends. Then we headed home to enjoy a ham dinner with all the fixens. My Aunt and Uncle came for a quick visit and dinner. We had a wonderful time. Nora found ALL the eggs (Ahren made sure to count), and the bunny was pretty generous this year. The kids both have enough chocolate to last a couple of months, so they won't even miss the few bites I am sure to pilfer.
We enter Easter Tide once again fully aware of the gift of Jesus Christ with renewed spirit. Next week Ahren will be confirmed in the United Methodist Church. He has one more class to take, and is really excited about making this commitment. We are so proud of him, so look for a posting about that soon.