Emma & Benjamin

For those who knew Emma as a baby and keep telling us how much Ben looks like she did - here's the proof:

Emma:


Benjamin:

Abigail's Poetry

Abigail woke up this morning with an urgent need to write down poetry. We were surprised and delighted at this new artistic inclination. She has been really enjoying Shel Silverstein's poems and we think that those have inspired her. Here are her first two compositions:

Listen When the Wind Blows
By Abigail A. Ward

Listen when the wind blows
The kite blows
The trees blow
Listen when the wind blows
Then that's all that it should be.

Listen when the wind blows
The clouds blow
The bushes blow
Then that's all that it should be.

(I should note that it is windy this morning here in Minnesota)

The Racoon Races
By Abbey A. Ward

The racoon races
The deer chases
The birds chatter
The greens whatter
The trees whisper
A baby whimpers.

Coloring Easter Eggs

We snapped a few pictures from our egg coloring project the night before Resurrection Sunday (also known as Easter). Even though the Easter portion of this holiday is purely pagan in its origins, we don't have a problem participating in the fun activities such as coloring eggs and giving our kids candy in easter baskets. We are far enough removed from the Pagan holiday's roots to have no association with the eggs and bunny and a goddess of fertility and life.

Tonight we also had our usual family devotions in which we go through the entire Sunday service together. What a joy to get such a "preview" on tomorrow's celebration of new life in Christ! We also started a tradition a couple of years ago where we place a small simple doll in the shape of a man, wrapped in linen strips, into a cardboard box fashioned into a tomb. We then roll a stone across the opening while reading the account of Jesus' death and placement in the tomb. On Sunday morning the stone is rolled away and the first thing we do when the kids wake up is go look at the tomb and rejoice that Jesus has conquered death!

New Pictures Uploaded

We have finally uploaded some pictures from the last month or two to our flickr account. Benjamin is in the 95th percentile (or higher) in weight. When you look at the pictures keep in mind that he is only 3 1/2 mo old and weighs about 17 lbs! Check out the girls during their ice skating class and Benjamin experiencing life with big sisters.