February and March

February... so long ago and I don't have the willpower to take pics off the real camera. Phone pics are easy enough because they auto-link to the computer. But pics on the real camera? Those will stay there until maybe Christmas when the memory chip is finally full and I have to  take them off. 

It seemed this whole month happened in like one week. Our family ping-ponged through the month with a mix of emotions, various parties, and a lot of travel.

A Super Bowl party and a Valentines Day party kept our house full of fun and laughter (and messes!). 

A last-minute trip to Michigan to say goodbye to two grandparents filled our home with tears and heartache. 

A wonderful anniversary trip to Costa Rica filled our home with a much-needed reload for Grady and I, and a much-appreciated week of love from Nana for the kids.

A weekly cooking class for Annalyse filled our home with new recipes and tasty treats - and a 7-year old who now insists on making dinner by herself occasionally. 

A new elite baseball team for Grady Lee initially filled our home with excited nerves but later turned to "I made the team! I can do this! I can hang with these guys!" 

In between this all was weekly co-op, weekly community group, and weekly Bible study. And then suddenly it was March!

March was a recovery month. A reset from burying precious grandparents, from the craziness of being out of the country for a week, and from hurt and complicated relationships. For me, I didn't feel like I had bandwidth left to give. 

But, because God's mercies are new each morning, I claimed his sufficient grace and trusted him for emotional and physical strength to make the day-to-day possible. Teaching was hard. Church was hard. Family was hard. These things were hard, but not forever. 

The amazing thing about God's authoring is that he changes the page and ends the chapter when his timing is right. He makes all things new and so I could claim joy.

Annalyse was able to "babysit" a couple of times and did an excellent job! She is a natural mommy-in-the-making.

Annalyse also discovered that if a future career in teaching or childcare doesn't pan out, she can fall back on cosmetology. She gave me some fantastic make overs.

Sometimes routine errands involve spontaneous dates with my littles.

Chef Annalyse making dinner. Se didn't burn herself or the food, she didn't break anything, and she fully cleaned things up: Win!

Sleeping kids are always angels.

Daddy gave his girls Valentine's treats!

Fun with friends in the backyard woods. Always muddy. Always exploring. Always having fun.

Handstands, bridges, and kickovers anywhere there is space.

Magnifying glasses + worms = home school nerds. But at least they're cute. (The kids. Not the worms.)

Forty! I hit the big 4-0! My family loved me well that day.

Spring means creepy-crawlies are out! Snakes, frogs, and lizards seemed to abound in our backyard this month.

The annual neighborhood egg hunt... Micah made it his mission to find one of the four golden eggs and DID. After his victory dance he handed to stuffed lamb prize over to Jaxton, which resulted in Jaxton copying Micah and giving a victory dance for being the one to get the prize.