Isabelle's First Bike

Last weekend we went a purchased a bike for Isabelle. It is her first bike and she was so very, very excited! The following pictures pretty adequately describe the first day of bike riding. Believe me, it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster.

The next few pictures you will see will show you that bike riding wasn't all Isabelle had envisioned it would be. :)

Thanks goodness she has an encouraging brother who can also show her how it is done.

The day ended with smiles and all is well again in the bike-riding world.

Easter Weekend

We hope you all had a blessed Easter weekend. We missed being with family in Michigan, but are so thankful to have been welcomed into the lives of friends here in Connecticut. Lots of activities and lots of pictures. Enjoy!

Some friends of ours came over on Friday afternoon and brought a few activities with them. We read a great story called "The First Easter" by Carol Heyer. I highly recommend it especially for those with younger children who may not fully comprehend or be able to absorb some of the more emotional and difficult parts of Christ's death. We made Resurrection Rolls, cut out and frosted cookies, and colored Easter eggs. We even helped the kids make sock bunnies. We really enjoyed the fun activities, but were especially blessed by the conversation and understanding our children had of Easter and all that it means for us as believers.

Some friends of ours in a neighborhood just down the road invited us to join them in an Easter egg hunt. It was a beautiful Saturday and the kids had a great time hunting and spending time playing outside.

Dean and I had been praying and talking about ways to be more intentional about Easter at the beginning of Lent. With our children still being fairly young, we decided to focus our activities and readings concerning Easter on the week leading up to the Sunday we celebrate Jesus' Resurrection. We used some suggestions from Noel Piper's book called "Treasuring God in our Traditions". We really enjoyed an advent type candle lighting and extinguishing as well as some specific readings reminding us that we are truly lost without the sacrifice of Jesus.

On Easter morning we gave each of the kids a small Easter basket and spent some time as a family playing outside and preparing food for later in the day.

We joined our church family for a late lunch and service on Easter Sunday. The food was delicious and the weather was beautiful.