Easter 2017

We had such a special Easter this year! 

The Saturday before Easter was my birthday. We celebrated by going out for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and then dying Easter Eggs. 

The kids got all kinds of Easter goodies.

On Easter morning we ate our boiled eggs and then went to church.

This year we are a host family to an international student at UNT. We have loved getting to know our student, Emma. She is from China and is the sweetest thing ever! Emma came to church with us and then joined us for Easter lunch.

We also had our friends, the Han Family, over for lunch. It was so fun and special to spend Easter with all of them!

The kids hunted eggs and then smashed cascarones! All of this was new and exciting for Emma!

Baylor even got Easter lunch!

To top off the evening, Mig accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior on Easter night! I can not think of a better way to celebrate the resurrection than that! What a way to celebrate Easter! 

Praise the Lord for Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross and his victory over death! Praise the Lord that we can stand and say, "Oh, death, where is your sting? Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated!" 

Look who turned 6!!!

On April Fools Day 6 years ago, my mom told me that my sister Rachel, who was carrying triplets was checking into the hospital. Up until that day every appointment she had was perfect. The babies were doing great; she was carrying them well. I have to admit, I thought it was an elaborate April Fools Day joke at first, but sure enough, those three made their way into the world that day becoming the 2nd, 3rd and 4th April Fool babies in our family because - PopPop was the original! 

This year we headed down for a Secret Life of Pets party at the Stepanov's beautiful, new house.

There were fabulous cakes, party foods and games, but the ultimate highlight of the party was the petting zoo.

I think Faith nearly ripped the wing off a baby chick - this rabbit seemed a little more resilient. 

Gabe loved this bearded dragon and has been asking (begging) for one ever since. 

I can't believe these guys are already 6 years old. They are fun and adorable and I love being their Auntie M!!

And of course, we had to give lots of love to the original April Fool baby, too!

Shiloh Field Service Project

This year we have incorporated a few service projects into our home schooling. Service projects are such great learning experiences for our children! They provide an authentic educational experience while at the same time teaching empathy. Service projects teach our children that whether they are 5 or 55, they can make an impact on the less fortunate in our community. 

In the fall, our home school group volunteered at Vision Ministries, a ministry of Denton Bible Church that provides food, clothing, classes and other essentials to those in need in the Denton area. The boys in our group sorted canned goods and stocked them on the shelves. The girls organized the clothing area. All of the children loved the opportunity to serve in such a real, hands-on way. 

This semester we volunteered at Shiloh Field. 

Did you know that 1 in 5 people in Denton County live at or below the federal poverty line and nearly one third of the residents here do not earn a livable income? That is where Shiloh Field steps in to help. Shiloh Field is our countries largest community garden and is doing a great job at feeding the hungry in Denton. 

We were given a tour of the large, 15 acre land owned by Denton Bible, but operated solely by donation. In the garden there are 152 personal 15x15 plots for families and individuals to plant on free of charge. There are fields designated for farming various crops, a vineyard and orchards.  

There is even an area on the land for chickens. The eggs laid by the birds are given to the hungry.  

Once we had seen the entire garden, we were put to work. The children were shown an area overgrown with weeds and their job was to clear the weeds out. 

They took their work very seriously and did a great job clearing the weeds. 

To find out more about the garden, you can like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dbcgarden/