Decorating Eggs

okay...I am finally getting the decorating egg pictures on here...

(you'll have to let me know how the pics turn out...I am trying a new service...photobucket.com...I don't know how big the pics come across so I don't know if everyone will be able to see them or not...let me know okay!)

As you can see from the pics below...everyone had a great time...I think Nathan may have been a bit tired as he looks it in the pictures...Abigail really focused on what she was doing too!

Print It...

If you notice to the right there is now a button that says "Print IT". If you click on this link you will be able to print designated posts. If you want a post that is older then what they automatically list, just click on that post and then the print button and you should be able to get it.

This is a new feature that I added for your convenience to get pictures and posts, as well as allow me to put a book together of all the posts on the blog.

Let me know if you like it and how it works for you.

Easter

For Easter this year we went to Scottsbluff to see the family. We hadn't been back there for over a year and thought this would be a good time to visit.

We left on Thursday and stayed the night with my sister and her family. On Friday we decorated eggs and had a great time playing before continuing on to visit Grandma Makey and have dinner with her.

In Scottsbluff we got to visit with my Aunt Patti and Uncle Daryl and family, my Uncle Dean and Aunt Kathleen, and my cousin Isaac. Abigail and Nathan also got to play a little with my step-sister Dael's kids (Elsieanne and Conlan). Abigail refers to them as Grandpa's kids. We were also able to eat dinner with our friends Janis and Miles Imel who have a greenhouse in Mitchell. Marion and I both worked with Janis at the Sugar Factory.

It was really great to see everyone and we really enjoyed all the meals and hospitality we received while visiting. Here are a few pictures of the kids playing and of us on Easter day.

(When I get my camera in the house I'll see if I can get some pictures posted of the easter egg decorating).

A Visit with Aunt Patti & Larissa

On Saturday my Aunt Patti and her kids were in Agra (just about 30 minutes away) for a Bible quiz bowl meet...so the kids and I headed off after we got Dad on the road to visit with Aunt Patti...










We stayed for most of the morning visiting in the nursery at the Heartland Church but after lunch when they realized they would be around for another three or four rounds of contests, I offered to bring Aunt Patti and Larissa to our house. So we had a nice visit and Aunt Patti got to see where we live.

It was fun to see them all after such a long time...it just happened that we'd seem them alot in the next few weeks...well twice anyway...

A Fort in a Week

After the baptism my dad was able to stay for the week and visit with us. We decided it would be fun to build a fort for the kids. I had been wanting one for a while and had the plans all in my head so Marion and Dad went to get some poles and wood from the Tact Barn and we started building. The kids got a 4 foot fort with tire climb, fireman's pole, monkey/gymnastic bars, and pole climbing. There is a place to add a slide when we finally pick one out and get it delivered and plans for a swing set and teeter-totter at a later date. Here are the pics:

We had a great time and really enjoyed the visit with Dad.

Jonathan's Baptism

On the 9th of March we had Jonathan's baptism. Below are some pictures of the event.






















































































My dad was able to make it down as well as my mom, sister and her family. Karla and Mark were here but had to leave because Erik came down with a high fever and felt it best to take him back home...we later found out he had roseola but he is doing better now. Heather and her kids came for lunch but Marvin stayed home as he was really sick. My uncle David was also able to join us for the event.

We were very blessed to have a couple in our church sing Blessed Be Your Name after Jonathan's baptism. This was very meaningful to me as this was the song that helped me through the loss of our baby last January. As you may know there is a part of the song that goes "You give and take away"...and knowing that God is the author and finisher of life and that He blessed us with the life of Jonathan just one year later...well it was very meaningful to me!

Hearing Test and 6 Week Checkup

On Thursday we went to Hastings to visit the ENT Doctor for Nathan's ear check up and Jonathan's newborn screening. It was a bit of an ordeal as the doctor got hung up with another procedure and we had to wait around for nearly and hour and half just to have a two minute look in Nathan's ears...but all was good so he is clear now for 6 more months.

As far as Jonathan was concerned he passed his hearing test just fine. While we were there we met up with Karla and the boys to bring them to stay at Grandma Schlatter's for the weekend. We had quite the van full with Nathan, Jonathan, Erik and Ben but they all traveled well and we reached home without any incidents.

On Friday we had Jonathan's six week checkup in Smith Center....he did very well. He weighed in at 9 lbs 10 oz and 23 inches long. That is two pounds more then his birth weight and 2 inches longer then his birth length. Dr. Conant said he was doing very well and was pleased with how he was growing.

Jonathan's lungs were clear and there was no signs of problems from his RSV. We did discover two birthmarks that we hadn't seen before....one is a bright red mark on his back and one is a light brown spot on the inside of his arm by the elbow.

Our next visit will be at four months with Dr. Barnes, though we will have to have shots done at two months sometime. It is amazing how fast he is growing.