Took pictures in the backyard today. Here are my favorites...

Had our cleft team visit today. I fret it for weeks...Eric just rolls his eyes at me, but tries to tell me everything will be okay. He's a good man.

I don't know what it is...afraid they'll find something to cut up, pull out, stuff in or therapy dump on???? So now everyone reading this is rolling their eyes at me! ;) But some of you get it! Surely?!

It hasn't been a full year since the last time we saw them, but there was some drama the past year, as I remember it! So understandable. Actually, it has been eight months, 28 days, 1 hour and 2 minutes.

I'm teasing! ;)

Well Zane did great, I did great, Eric did super, as always...annoying. ;) They thought Zane was a tank (He put down enough snacks in front of them to prove it!), his lip scar has healed 'beautifully', he blew them away in speech, and no problems in psych (with me either!), OT or nutrition. Nutrition?! Come on, do they know me?! ;)

Only bummer was the hearing test - not exactly passing. But we knew going in, it wouldn't be his strong suite. But here are the facts, he's progressing in all areas with no delays, his speech is excellent and improving and he DOES have allergies. So everyone is watching and waiting while we pursue some allergy testing to see if it might relieve this fluid that's keeping his ears from performing at their best.

We were first on the schedule and in and out within two hours. Besides ear follow-up and allergy testing this summer, we won't see the team for another year (WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!), isn't that nice? :)

It was an awesome morning - all praise, glory and honor to Him, The Great Physician, who loves and cares for our Zane deeper and wider than we can possibly imagine. Thank you Father! Love you Zane-O-Boy!

Because we know HE LIVES, we had some fun celebrating in anticipation of Easter! We 'hit' hunts at two large churches just down the road from us. There were 1000s of eggs, crafts, animals, free food and candy, candy, candy.

Our Bible verse focus leading up to Easter was "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

More than in years prior, Elle is grasping a deeper understanding of God's love to us through His son, Jesus. What a sacrifice Jesus made to give us eternal life in heaven with our Father. Watching this knowledge unfold in your child's heart is JOY!

One way we focused our hearts, on this best time of year, was using the resurrection egg devotional. Oh how they looked forward to our evenings, discovering the next hours in Jesus' journey to the cross. They were somber and full of questions. This year, the crown of thorns and nails He bore for us deeply pained Elle. The story was brought even more to life at our church's Good Friday prayer walk. Each station had focused scripture and prayer regarding the last days and hours before our Savior was laid in the grave. Eric read and prayed with Elle at each station, but at the cross she was too burdened to kneel before it with Eric and literally pound in a nail. She quietly watched.... But at the final station, the tomb, she asked to pray and thanked God for Jesus and that He is alive. She hasn't stopped talking about Jesus' sacrifice...as it should be, all year long.

In celebration of our new life, found only in Jesus, we participated in Rent-a-Chick. My sister's family has a coop of them and was flabbergasted that we actually paid for this experience. Ha! It was good fun though and made for a memorable Easter happening.

So this is how it went down... we picked up two yellow and fluffy baby chicks from our nearby friendly farmer. Along with the chicks, they sent us home with a box, bedding, feed, water and food dispensers -- and then we experienced....

Funny story...on our drive home, we all had to go potty, BADLY! When we all had successfully made it on the convenience store potty, Elle shouted out, "HOSANNA!" ...just living The Word! ;)

The chicks were completely adorable and Elle was such a good 'mommy', cleaning their box, feeding them, replenishing their water and holding them until they fell asleep. Zane, not so much. I had to nearly force him to 'enjoy' this adventure and he just wouldn't have anything to do with it. Well, this lasted for five days and then those baby chicks just got ugly, smelly and not so yellow and fluffy. Eew, yuck! :( I'm thinking, a week would have been plenty of adventure for this city family.

My sister is still speechless. She informed me that I could have bought them for much less.

Me: "But what would I do with them when we're done?!"
My (compassionate) sister: "Kill them."

Uh.....yeah, right! ...we live in two different worlds!

And oh, cousin Titus also experienced Rent-a-Chick to his joy as well! ;)

Eric and I recently attended a home school conference, together! It was too many hours away from Zane last year, so Eric stayed home while I went with a friend. This time was like a mini vaca! We had not seen Grandma H. in eight months, so it was perfect timing for her to fly in for a visit and watch the kiddos while we were filled-up and refreshed.

What we appreciated most about this time was the encouragement in building a family of faith, with hearts turned toward The Father and each other. The keynote speaker was Dr. Th*mas Sharp from Creation Truth Foundati*n. He is a brilliant scholar, but most impressive is his love and passion for Jesus and the family. We agreed that the biggest take away from our time listening to him was our responsibility to train our children to discern right from wrong and adhere to God's truth.

The other stand-out Biblical challenge, shared by another speaker, was the 'fattened calf' principle from Luke 15. The parable of the prodigal son should remind us that after we've prayed, listened and waited for God's answer -- we need to celebrate His provision! As a family, don't miss offering BIG praise for His answers, His care, His victory!

And boy, did we come away from the weekend with BIG 'fattened calf' PRAISES!

First, we met a speech pathologist who practices with a philosophy that we have been praying and searching for. I cried as I sat in her class and leaned over to whisper to Eric, "I want her!" After her lecture, I approached her and told her directly, "I want you!" There are not enough words to express the knee-buckling, God-awing provision this providential meeting was. She shared that she knows of no other pathologist in our area that practices with her approach and she came as a last minute speaker for just one of the conference days. God directed us to her class out of ten others that hour - an incredible answer to years of prayer.

The other 'chance' (NOT!) meeting was at a small class that discussed neurological testing, advancement and healing. We have been seeking God's direction for professional help with a Godly worldview that would address some needs of Elle's. Something that has been difficult to grasp was laid out and broken down with real next steps offered by some of the world's foremost authorities in learning challenges from our own city...we are still awed-speechless....

Spring break was a staycation. Daddy at home; what else could we want for! Even then, having him 24-7 for nine days wasn't quite enough. So they rode, climbed, tackled, hugged, and kissed to drain every bit of everything from him.

We played games, spent time outside, worked on projects, had some adventures, ate out (multiple times trying to find the best fish tacos in the city), cooked and ate good food. With Eric's classes on break, he didn't even have to study, so it was a lot of playing hard.

Our first bowling experience was definitely a highlight. Must find out how to do it cheaper! When did bowling get so expensive?! But totally worth it for the thrill they had. The kiddos held their own and scored amazingly well with a little help from bumpers. There were lots of high-fives, woo-hoos and cheers; what a blast!


We also visited this train exhibition that is set-up in a store front at a local mall. Men in the community build and maintain the sets for young and old to come hang out and enjoy. There's even an area of hands-on Thomas engines. Zane was wide-eyed!


Bargain hunting at second-hand stores turned out some big scores for the kiddos; puzzles and a brand new Lite*Brite still in its original packaging!

While I took Zane to a doctor's appointment, Elle had a breakfast date with Dada. Her flower clip makes me happy-laugh. Apparently she drew some attention with her style that morning.

Tis the season, the mowing and rides have begun! It's a lot of cutting for Eric, but he has it down to a science and has been trading in tractors the past several years to increase his cutting deck to an impressive 52".


Just a little hail in the middle of our spring break. Ahhh, Kansas!

One evening we had French toast with cream cheese, blueberries, and real maple syrup. It's actually the first time I've made this since Elle arrived in 2006. Not being huge bread eaters, this was a super-duper yummy treat. Wowzers - it was good!

Zane enjoys 'painting' the bricks and always finishes with more water on him than anywhere else. Painting is also enjoyed inside, especially when Dada is the audience.


The week's evening thrills were at the dinner table over games and popcorn. Z*ngo is a favorite and Zane is really quick at it. He even keeps track of the tiles others need and grabs it on our behalf, to help us out. But nobody cheers over a victory as robostly as Elle.


Certainly enjoyed this year's staycation. When it was finished we weren't exhausted, didn't feel like we needed a couple of more days to recuperate and thoroughly soaked each other up. Not surprisingly, it was very difficult to give up Daddy that next Monday morning.