Easter - Bronchitis, Pink Eye, Ugly Spokane, Lots of Rain. . . He has Risen Indeed!

Okay I wish I could write a really spiritual Easter message that was encouraging to everyone and made us look like a really awesome Christian family. Well, if you know me very well at all you are well aware that I am REAL! Easter was miserable, but we made the best of it. We all felt horrible, with Lucia being the most sick. We thought we all had colds, but found out today after all day at the doctor's office and pharmacy that Lucia has bronchitis and Keagan has pink eye. Sorry to everyone we saw at church :(
And, it was freezing and raining all day. Spokane is already so ugly this time of year and then no sun and rain on Easter, come on! What we did hear of the sermon while our kids held it together, was wonderful. And we are so blessed, but sick. I know it could be way worse. Here are the sweet bunnies my mom got for the kiddos. They were easier to photograph than my own sick grumpy bunnies, especially their Dad. Who by the way got all the credit for the Easter baskets since he has dressed up as the Easter bunny the last few years. There is no justice in this world. He had NOTHING to do with the baskets, nor their contents. The boys kept saying "Thanks Dad for the Easter gifts."
He thought it was hysterical.

Grampy and Kinkade hiding eggs in the rain.
Keagan got a paint set and painted the day away. He loves any art project. If his life consisted of shooting hoops and doing art projets all day he would love it.
Still smiling with the worst congestion I've ever heard or seen in my life.
Ugly yucky Spokane, yes that is snow.

The best I could get in Easter outfits.

Easter baskets apparently from Dad.
Every year Grammy and Keagan dress up as bunnies to deliver easter baskets to friends.

Re-adoption in WA state!!!!!

Well, yesterday was another step along the journey to complete this adoption. We had our court appointment for re adoption. This is the state of Washington recognizing our adoption and now Lucia's name is officially changed, she will have a US Birth Certificate with her new name on it, a Social Security number and she is once again officially our daughter! Here we are with the judge afterwards. She let the boys sit in her chair they thought this was very cool! Grampy and Grammy got to come and celebrate with us!
I love this pic of us raising our right hands b/c it is very telling about every one's personality. Kinkade such a pleaser raising his hand extra high! Keagan - a little bit of "I do what I want when I want:) And mom and dad very serious about COMPLETING this process!

When Keagan and Kinkade were asked by the judge how it was having a little sister . . . Aaron and I held our breath. Because we knew who would answer and it would be either charming and creative, or extremely embarrassing and outlandish. Keagan has his own way of saying everything, and it is NEVER the predictable answer.

Keagan answered "Well, it is a lot louder, a lot sillier, and there is lots of pulling hair and our house is filled with raspberries noises all the time."

As I watched the clerk type away, I guess it could of been worse. Maybe we should of practiced that response. Here are some family pictures at the Court House. To say the least it is a little difficult to get a family picture. Lucia is in a stage where she loves to grab faces and it always turns into a wrestling match.

First she attacked Keagan!

This one she has Kinkade by the hair!
Full on attack for Kinkade!
Back to Keagan. . .
Hey maybe we got one, oh no. . . look at Keagan's hand. "Now I will eat my mom."

One more step down. Good thing she is so worth it and we would do it all over again 100 times for this fun, energetic, exuberant little girl! Thanks for checking our blog. It is turning into Lucia's baby book.

Happy St. Patricks Day from our favorite little LEPRECHAUN

Greens, Ducks, some sun and and lots of SMILES!

We had such a fun weekend. The sun has been peaking out her in the Northwest. There is still some snow on the ground, but we hit the park after church anyway! We met our good friends the Humes.

Lucia was her typical all smiles. . . sunshine self.

She makes me so happy I can barley stand it.

My sweet Kinkade has always loved feeding the ducks. He is very precise and careful tearing off tiny pieces and making sure each duck gets some.

My sweet Keagan loves the bread, always has. . . the ducks have never gotten any of Keagan's bread. When he was two we found him behind the bench shoving the whole loaf in his mouth.

Snuggling with Mandolyn.

The boys and their big sticks. Taud joined the fun he couldn't help himself.

Still a favorite activity of Lucias . . . jump, jump, and jump some more.

Before heading off to the Whitworth big BB game. Lucia's second basketball game since she has been home. We took her to the Zags game a couple of weeks ago. Of course she loved every minute and waved and danced with the music and noise, and charmed whoever is around us.

Okay shifting gears, I got motivated to fill my fridge with greens for Lucia. When the boys were babies I read this awesome book on making all your own baby food. It was always such a great feeling knowing exactly what was going into my boys little bodies. So here is the Kale steaming. I made spinach, kale, and asparagus, and peas. It is also such a feeling of accomplishment after your done. I just love making their food and it is surprisingly easy!

Mmmmmmm. . . spinach!

And the verdict - "Not so sure about this stuff. . .

"Actually I kind of like it."

"I will eat it all, but I might spit a little at your face to make my brothers fall down in hysterics laughing.

OH NO! Guess who is crawling????

Well some might not call it crawling, but it is movement forward. . . Keagan calls it the centipede. I call it lunge and dive (can you tell I am a volleyball coach:) She now can get something in front of her. It is adorable to watch. I should of taken a picture of the dumped out DVDs and all the boys puzzles. Oh man our life just got busier! She is one active little girl. Really proud of herself!
Taking a little rest.
Really focused.
Thinking about her next move.
Look mom I can do it!

2 moments that melted my heart today

I had a fun play date with friends this morning. At one point I left the room to make Lucia a bottle and she started to cry. It really touched me. . . it is the first time she has done this. I think she might know I am her mommy. She barley ever cries so it was really surprising. Tonight it got even better . . . Keagan and Kinkade and Grammy Sparkle had Lucia in absolute hysterics before bed. It was so sweet to watch. I should learn how to upload videos on to blogger so you could hear her squeal and giggle with pure JOY!

Seaweed, Squid, and KOREAN FUN!

As many of you know who have followed our life this last year, our dear friends Janny and Ryan moved to Korea for an entire year to teach English to Kindergartners. They moved in December and have never met Lucia. It is so hard to have them so far away. Ryan lived with us for more than a year before they got married. They are both so special to our family. We love them dearly and miss them so much. They sent us a fun package today filled with many interesting Korean foods. My twin five year old boys are really BRAVE EATERS! They have always eaten anything that is served or at least tried it. For example Keagan wanted to bring for snack his first week of preschool pot stickers, shrimp, and lettuce wraps. I tried to explain the other 3-4 year olds might not be too impressed. The other kids had brought fruit snacks, granola bars, string cheese. . . you know typical pre-school snacks.

Well, Ryan wrote on the outside of the DRIED SQUID "So, boys are you tough enough?"
The answer is in the pics that follow. . .

Dried Squid!
"We are tough enough!"
"Here I go. . . . . "
LOVE IT!
IT'S AWESOME!
Okay here goes the seaweed.
SICK!
"Can I have some more?"
I will post some pics of Lucia's goodies from Janny and Ryan and their blog. . because it is extremely entertaining.