Elijah has put on Christ

Tom and Amy Frey (God Parents) their two girls, Abby and Katie, our family and Fr. Phil

On Sunday we celebrated Elijah's baptism with family and friends. It wasn't a beautiful day in terms of weather, but the warmth inside was amazing. People during communion, who I don't normally talk with much, were congratulating me as they passed us going up to receive the sacrament. It was also a comical service as the Priest teased us about Eli wearing a "dress". Is it that uncommon these days for a baby boy to be baptized in a christening gown? When Lydia was born I asked my mom to make a gown with the intentions of having it be for all of our children. Upon having a boy I decided that we would go ahead with the tradition. Last night we took Eli to Sears for portraits in his gown and the photographer commented over and over "You poor thing, this will be the only time you have to wear a dress". Either way the opinion of the photographer, he looked pretty darn cute and was very smiley even though we woke him up from a nap to take the photos.

All last week Lydia commented when we drove by the church "Eli outfit... church" because she saw Gma working to put new sleeves on the gown. When Lydia was baptized the sleeves were a bit much even then so Mom was kind enough to change them. The gown looked great!! Also at the baptism Lydia made us all laugh during the renewing of our baptism vows when she said "I do!" The principle from JI also said Lydia made her smile during the service because she was winking at someone in the congregation. Thanks to all our friends and family for celebrating!!

Sisters!

This weekend we had a wonderful visit from my sister. It was so much fun just hanging out, chatting, working in the yard with my parents, and even getting in a little shopping. Oh, how I wish she lived closer and was able just hang out more often. I was reminded of this when trying to get Lydia to let me put her hair up in a ponytail Saturday night. She won't allow me to put her hair up and as I became frustrated Carissa simply said "Remember when she wouldn't let you put barrettes in her hair?" The honesty of our relationship is awesome!! Thanks Little Sister for being there for me!!

(Carissa and Lydia were both sporting shirts from our favorite State Fair exhibit - the Little Farm Hand booth)

On the topic of sisters; Lydia is a grand slam Big Sis!! She wakes every morning asking about him "Eli wake", tries to quiet his fussing, help with diaper changing, hold him, and most recently help him roll over or try to teach him how to play with the exersaucer toys.

(Already reading and teaching her brother so much!!)

(Loving him to pieces)

Imagine This...

After battling low grade fevers, runny noses, and coughing that wakes you at night, I finally decided to take the kids into the doctor. What a sight!! The minute we walk into the clinic Lydia says "No Hurt!" Do you think she likes shots? NO! As I proceed to update the kid's records Lydia is like a broken record say "No Hurt!". I try to reassure her, but when they finally called us back she started crying and saying "Coat on" or "outside?" The nurse was super sympathetic and must have signaled another nurse to come assist because before you knew it we had 3 nurses helping us. Lydia won't stand on the scale by herself so I now know how much I weigh as well as the two kids. After getting temps. and weights our entourage walked down the hall with one nurse carrying the charts, one with the car seat, another holding Eli, and me with the inconsolable Lydia. One nurse quickly got Lydia a sucker and stickers which calmed her a bit, but once the doctor arrived there wasn't much the poor man could do. I held her against me as he tried to look in her ears which he said for about the 3 seconds he got to look in them that they appeared red. I think if the doctor saw us on the street he would run to the other side to avoid Lydia's mean looks, crying, screaming, and kicking :) Elijah on the other hand did much better, but was also prescribed amoxicillian because his symptoms had gone away and returned with in a week so the doctor thinks it was something bacteria. Needless to say we are all on the mend and will hopefully be healthy for a while because if you read Eli's baby calendar it talks about stuffed up nose and coughing every week since he was born.

Besides trying to bring us back to health we are also enjoying the beautiful weather. We love taking stroller rides, playing with outside toys, swinging, blowing bubbles, and having picnics with daddy on the farm. Oh, and I learned how to play croquet this weekend with my dad's family. I didn't know it was such an in depth game with players being able to set someone else's ball and the first one to reach the end becoming poison and trying to get other players out of the game. I don't think I will play with my Uncle Dale any time soon!! j/k :) Thanks Schloesser family for a fun and relaxing Sunday!

I also got to see my friend's new baby this weekend. The McHugh family had a beautiful baby girl on Tues. and with the kids being sick I was sad not to visit them in the hospital, but didn't want to get anyone else sick :) Luckily on Sunday I dashed over for a moment to hold the precious bundle of joy. How can newborns really be that small? Now you may be thinking- Hello, you just had a baby. Don't you remember Eli being that small? I honestly think I have memory loss or something because she just seemed so small and she even weighed more than him. You realize just how fast babies grow when you can't remember your own 3 month old looking that small. :) Life is such an amazing and precious gift!!

Praise Ye the Lord

Praise Ye the Lord, Hallelujah!
Praise Ye the Lord, Hallelujah!
Praise Ye the Lord, Hallelujah!
PRAISE YE THE LORD!

On Sunday our priest taught the congregation Praise Ye the Lord. We even did it with men singing the Hallelujah and women doing the Praise Ye the Lord. Church was packed and caused me to wonder where are all these people on every other Sunday? The song stayed with all of us through out the day and now I can't get it out of my head. I guess that's not a bad thing since I should be praising the Lord for the greatest sacrifice of all.

Our Easter weekend was very enjoyable. It all started Friday when Lydia, my mom, Elijah, and I dyed Easter eggs and made egg salad with my aunt Deann and her two boys. The kids were very patient with the dye, tried mixing colors, and even wrote their names on an egg. Then we peeled them for egg salad. I don't think the kids enjoyed eating them as much as peeling, but I loved the egg salad. Yum!!

Then on Saturday we experienced our second annual Jaycees egg hunt in MN Square park. It is amazing how many turn out for it and still the kids get a lot of treats. Lydia was more interested in playing on the playground. Oh, well :) We saw our friends the McHughs and Johnsons who have boys with in 6 months of Lydia. It is so cute how that all say one another's names. Malcolm comes out Milka :) We also celebrated my aunt Michelle and Gma Joan's birthdays with bowling and a party. Great seeing everyone!!

Easter Sunday we celebrated with a wonderful mass and then dinner with the Yost Family. Lydia liked hunting for eggs and playing with her cousin Kyla. While the kids stayed with family I helped Charlie milk cows. It's been a while since I have helped in the barn which my body reminded me of today!

Attention!! Flood Report...

The Rabbit Road is officially open! YEAH!! On Friday the driveway was fully exposed so we have been driving in since then. The county cleaned the muck off the road this morning and by afternoon the normal traffic was in full force.