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Saturday, February 26, 2011

If you plant it, they will come and other happenings as of late



We had the pleasure of visiting our dear friends, the Cunninghams, last week. They were on a family holiday to Disney World (of all the wonderful places!) and so we drove out to see them for a couple hours before they left town. The kids LOVED seeing each other again. It's amazing to me the bonds that Gracyn (their oldest) and PJ have from living in Thailand together. They still look at each other as best friends...and of course they are quick to mention Emmy Mills...who is also one of those best friends! We served with Jack and Kim our first three years in Thailand and then they felt the Lord calling them back to the States. We have managed to keep up with them...and Kim has been a tremendous source of encouragement to me over the years...as it seems she's always just a step ahead of me in terms of life lessons....so it's been wonderful to have her to talk to. I thank God for the bonds he strengthened between us while in Thailand...and how they continue to grow! Thanks Cunninghams for seeing us! (Our husbands were each busy...Paul in classes and Jack started a weekend conference also here in Orlando).


And, in other news, I have mentioned (I think) that PJ is our butterfly boy. I remember when my brother Matt was fascinated with butterflies. He would save his money to buy plants for them to perch on. One time, as my mom tells the story, she had a friend over and the friend remarked how alive a butterfly looked on her house plant...my mom had to inform her that it was alive! So, I guess between Paul for a dad and my brother for an uncle, he's bound to love nature! Anyway, we took him to the store the other day and bought him some plants for his very own butterfly garden. I was SO very proud of him. You can see him in the picture...working hard...and even at times by himself, to get his plants in the ground. He has been keeping vigil for any butterflies in the yard/neighborhood and he can hardly wait until they start coming around. His obsession with butterflies started last summer in Pennsylvania when he decided he wanted to catch them. And, while we were living with Paul's folks, his obsession increased even more as Grammy has plenty of beautiful plants that attract butterflies. When we moved back to Orlando all PJ could think about was getting some of our own plants...but of course that was October, butterfly season was dying down a bit and so we asked him to wait...and wait he did, so patiently! Now, we have to wait some more for the butterflies to come!


Friday, February 11, 2011

Mideival Faire 2011

We attended the Hoggetowne Midieval Faire the other week and we had such a wonderful time. The kids LOVED all the weaponry and shows. Calvin enjoyed throwing knives and PJ enjoyed fencing with his cousin, Gabe. Adele enjoyed watching the Knife Act (well, they all did) and Daddy even took Adele and PJ on an elephant ride!

Our favorite things were seeing and trying on hand crafted weapons and armor. Several of the kids cousins also attended with their parents and so they enjoyed spending the day with them as well!
One of my favorite acts was the jousting. No one got knocked of their horse but it was really neat to see them riding at each other with jousting sticks in hand.









The line-up of cousins...all dressed in costume for the event. Notice my Adele is barefoot!












The knights jousting.


















The knight, Sir Joseph, that we cheered for.















Sir Gabriel (on the left) and Sir Paul (on the right) fencing.















Sir Paul





















Calvin and Uncle Tim sword fighting.
















Trying on real armor...and checking out weaponry.
Lastly, Paul and kids decked out in their costumes.

Calvin's 5th Birthday


(These pictures are in order from what happened last to first.)
Calvin turned 5 on January 31. Since his 4th birthday he has desired a birthday party with his friends, so this year we broke our usual tradition of just celebrating as a family and invited three boys to Calvin's party. I must say, he went to sleep that night happy and feeling well loved. His day was great...
Since all the rage in our house is Star Wars we did a Star Wars themed party. You will see evidence of this in the following pictures. After eating cake they had fun playing with balloons.


































The best picture of Calvin with his cake...simply a strawberry cake with the Star Wars logo on it (simple enough, huh?!) We served the cake with Yoda Sodas (very yummy and green...and easy to make!)













To get the party started we played some traditional games with a Star Wars slant. Paul made a "Death Star" pinnata and the boys (and Adele) had fun whacking at it. Finally it burst open and all the candy came falling out. We were glad our young Jedis were able to destroy it.








Here's Calvin's turn.

















The line up of friends.














And no party would be complete without Musical Chairs set to the Star Wars theme music. The kids LOVED this and had so much fun seeing who would be left out. Can you see how happy our boy is? Happy Birthday Calvin Lewis! We love you.