Happy Easter!

Easter weekend. We loved having John home all day on Good Friday. I loved yesterday, when John took the boys to run errands in the morning and then back out again for a really long walk after naptime, giving me loads to time to myself. We loved remembering the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross with fellow believers at our church on Good Friday evening. We loved celebrating His resurrection this morning at church. We love talking about the meaning of Easter with the boys and have Brennan really start to grasp truths about faith. Baskets and egg hunts are fun (even when they need to be moved inside due to rain), but we so love instilling the foundations of faith in these two boys and seeing how excited they are about going to church, reading the Bible, and praying. What a gift!

Happy Easter from our house to yours!

Top 5

March 24 marked five years in Virginia. Boy, are we ever blessed to call Virginia home. And for this girl whose Minnesota roots run deep, there is deep contentment to have this "home away from home". In honor of our five-year anniversary of life here, we decided to compile our "Top 5" list of events and things we love about Richmond.

Top 5 Things We Love about Richmond:
1.  Maymont Park--we love visiting this 100-acre park. There is plenty of space for running around and picnics. We love walking through the Italian and Japanese gardens. Exploring the children's farm and wildlife exhibits are always winners, especially trying to spot the bears who love to hide up in the trees in their enclosure!
2.  Local food--oh, how we love to visit local Richmond places like MeKong Vietnamese cuisine, Bottom's Up Pizza, Buzz and Ned's Barbeque, Sweet Frog frozen yogurt. The list could go on and on!
3.  Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens--we typically head here only about twice a year. Once on Independence Day when the offer free admission and once for Light Up the Gardens where Christmas lights abound. It's really a beautiful place that we love walking around and exploring.
4.   We love being close enough to Washington, D.C., so we can take day trips up there. We've done that several times and have really enjoyed exploring a number of different museums.
5.  This one might seem a little silly, but we've both really appreciated a general sanity and courtesy among the drivers here, particularly right after moving here from a place that didn't really demonstrate either of those qualities! We've begun to take it for granted, but it really is nice and appreciated!

Top 5 Important Events:
1.  Owen's birth. Boy are we ever grateful for this little guy!
2.  Finding our house. After years of living with shared walls, we jumped at the chance to live in a free-standing home. Only after signing the lease did we see how God orchestrated events for His purposes:  our landlords have become dear friends and they are the ones that invited us to our church nearly two years ago.
3.  Our church, Third at Pump Road. We have been attending there for about 1.5 years and have been so very, very blessed by the church and the relationships we've built there.
4.  Our friendships. Through our church, we've developed some wonderful friendships and are so grateful for these friends that God brought into our lives. They have loved us and cared for us well, especially in the absence of extended family nearby.
5.  We've been so grateful to do annual summer vacations with some very dear friends, the Bredbenners, the Hasses, and the Vallees. It's such a joy to live within only a couple hours of these friends and get to see them on a somewhat regular basis. John has known the guys for nearly half his life and the wives have been warmly welcomed into the circle as it has expanded. We love these friends so much!
6.  A bonus event:  Ella. Yes, it's strange to include the loss of a child in a list of important events, but her brief little life and death opened up the reality of heaven as our eternal home in a way that neither of us experienced ever before. And for awakening a discomfort with the world and granting us a longing for our true home, we are truly grateful.

More Snow Days

March 25. Officially five days into spring. Aaannnddd...we have another snow day. With school cancelled, a little outside time was just what was needed to help maintain sanity in the household.

 

 

While we celebrate Christmas and Easter with neither Santa, his reindeer, or the Easter bunny, a friend posted this on Facebook and I thought it captured well the craziness of Virginia weather. Here's hoping for no more snow days!

 

Kung Fu Moves

"Kung Fu Panda" has been all the movie rage in our house lately. Owen especially loves to do "Master . Shifu" moves. I was finally able to get a little snippet of his moves on video. Of course, it's always better in person :) Oh, and he made his crown in preschool this morning and loves wearing it!

Germany

Every year our Children's Museum hosts a "Kids Carniball" with all kinds of special activities centered around one particular country. This year's theme was Germany. Having never been to one of these events before, we were excited to see what it was like. There was a polka band, complete with costumed dancers, Beethoven and Bach were wandering around, and snacks of pretzels and cheese were provided (all that was missing was the beer!). It made for a fun Saturday morning outing!

 Modeling his alpine hat with a mouthful of pretzels

 

Waiting to get their candy choice dipped in chocolate

 The polka band (Dad, you would have loved it!)

Teddy Bear Clinic

Brennan went on a field trip for preschool today to the Teddy Bear Clinic at a local hospital. They toured the pediatric emergency room and then their bears got stitches and a cast. Brennan said he was nervous about his bear getting "treated", but he was pretty excited about the outcome!

Storytellers

We are big fans of both Andrew Peterson and Jason Gray in our household. John has followed AP since the mid-90's and I got turned on to his music at some point during the course of our marriage. We both became fans of JG at the Behold the Lamb of God concert in 2010 where he was a guest artist and blew us away. When we heard that they were touring together and coming to Virginia, we decided to make every effort possible to get to their concert.

We headed down to Williamsburg last night with our good friends, Dave and Tera, and met two other very dear friends, Brent and Wendy, for an evening of seriously good music on this installment of the Storytellers Tour.

Blown. Away. As to be expected. We were so, so glad to get to this concert, hear the stories behind the songs, and fill our souls with some absolutely stellar lyrics.

For those not familiar with their music, never fear. Here are a couple links to favorite songs (and believe me, was it ever hard to narrow it down to just one each!). For Jason Gray, check out "Remind Me Who I Am". This is a song that I seriously need to listen to each and every day. For Andrew Peterson, check out "Dancing in the Minefields", all about the dance of marriage. And if either of them ever come to your area for a concert, definitely go see them!

Firsts

This February is marked with several significant "firsts" for us, all related to Ella. A year ago, we began sharing the news that we were pregnant. A year ago on Leap Day, we found out that she had died. A year ago today (according to the ultrasound), she was born into heaven.

It's strange to reflect back on what life was like a year ago. She is never far from my thoughts and always in my heart, but I remember her today especially--this day when heaven became her permanent home. In some ways, it feels odd to mark this day since we had no idea that she had died. But in other ways, it feels perfectly right to mark this day, her heavenly birthday.

John bought me three roses yesterday. A red one symbolizing love for Valentine's Day. A pink one to remember baby girl. A purple one symbolizing royalty, a reminder that Jesus is our King and that Ella's forever home is in His most perfect Kingdom.

In the weeks following her death, I had bought a necklace off Etsy that said "Remember" on one side with a tiny footprint and birthstone on the other side. Recently I've found myself wanting to get something that represents all my kids. I found the perfect one for me and it came just yesterday. The boys were excited to see which one was "their" egg.

So...we mark this day and remember her brief, tiny life. We never forget our little amethyst who was in the nest for such a short time but left our lives changed forever. Happy first heavenly birthday, Ella. We love you and miss you, sweet girl.

A Friendly Gathering

We visited our friends, Dan and Kate and their family, this past weekend for some Super Bowl fun, as well as celebrating Dan's birthday. It's always fun to visit these friends and this weekend was no exception. We had fun foods that represented both Baltimore and San Fransisco (the edge went to Baltimore--Berger cookies are pretty amazing!). After putting the boys to bed during halftime, we discovered that Owen figured out how to climb out of the pack-and-play! It only took a couple times of putting him back to bed that they both finally settled down to sleep and we all settled in to watch the rest of the game.

We fit in a trip to the US Marine Corps Museum, which John has been eager to do for a while. We were very impressed with how well done the museum is. The atrium is full of airplanes, tanks, and large displays. The gallery has fabulous displays of marine recruitment and the history of the marines . Much of it was appropriate for the kids, but we kept them out of the displays from about WWI and beyond due to a bit more graphic combat depictions. Overall, a really well done museum that we were glad to experience!

Ah, January

I am a Minnesota girl. Therefore, I tend to expect snow in the winter. Living in Richmond, we don't often get snow...but when we do, it becomes a BIG event. There are runs on grocery stores to stock up on snow supplies. Non-stop news coverage about when and where the snow starts falling. Basically, the entire city shuts down. And then I hang my head and sigh.

We got a couple inches of snow last night (complete with a couple peals of thunder!). Schools, including preschool, closed for the day which meant that the boys have gotten to spend the morning outside playing in the snow. Being outside today has been a true gift since we've had rain for four straight days and haven't seen the sun in a week.
The thundersnow last night really threw Owen for a loop and he didn't really want to go outside and play this morning, despite the sun shining and no hint of thunder to be found. He quickly overcame his fears and they have both really been enjoying the icy snow experience.

 

 

January?

This weather has been far too nice...for January. It's just about "windows open" weather the past couple of days. I heard birds singing outside this morning and kind of wondered when we had bypassed winter and entered spring. Alas, this Minnesota girl loves seasons and still wishes for a little bit of snow during the winter. But...the warmer weather has made it possible for the boys to get out and enjoy the yard. They are definitely all boy and sure love digging in the dirt! I will be glad for winter to reappear, but for now we are enjoying this taste of spring.

Birthday fever

Birthday fever continues in our house. Owen has discovered a cabinet in our laundry room where we have a stash of old birthday party hats. The past few days, he's loved pulling a couple out for him and Brennan to wear around the house. He has also discovered the drawer where we keep the lighter (thankfully a childproof one!) and loves to bring it over to the candle on the table so we can light it. After I lit it for him today, he leaned over it and started singing "Happy Birthday"! What a cutie!

The Big 5!

Brennan turned five years old yesterday! We celebrated the birthday boy by taking a trip to the Science Museum of Virginia, eating at his two favorite places for lunch (Chick-fil-A and Sweet Frog), a special outing with Daddy to go swimming in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa Downer's hotel, and pancakes for dinner. Cupcakes and presents were also a must!

We have loved watching Brennan blossom from little boy into big boy. Preschool has been a wonderful experience for him. He's been learning and growing so much during just the few months he's been there. He loves books and music and loves to sing some of the songs he's been learning. He's such a joy to us and we are so very grateful that God gave us Brennan!

Merry (belated) Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

 

 Brennan got his own tablet and has been having a blast learning how to play it!

 

Owen is our budding chef. He loves his new cooking stuff! 

Outing

One of the (many) things that I love about living in Richmond is that we are close enough to Washington, D.C., to make the occasional day trip up there. Yesterday was one of those occasions because John's parents are visiting for Christmas. We braved the cold weather (the wind chill was below freezing!) and scoped out the National Christmas Tree. None of us had ever seen it in person before. We discovered that around the base of the tree is a ton of model train displays, which absolutely captivated both boys. Every state and territory also creates ornaments for their own small tree which all surround the National Christmas Tree. Pretty impressive display!

Couldn't quite get the sign, but these are the Virginia boys by the Virginia tree!

 Part of the fun of having a new camera is testing out some of the fun features and settings on it.

 

The sole museum we visited on this trip was the Newseum, a museum entirely dedicated to news history. We spent a good three hours there and felt like we could have used a second day to go through everything. There were some pretty impressive exhibits, including actual portions of the Berlin Wall, a radio tower recovered from the World Trade Center, and a beautiful exhibit featuring the Pulitzer Prize winning photographs since the 1940s. Definitely worth it.

 The Berlin Wall

The radio tower from the WTC

Weekend

We got to see our friends, the Bredbenners, this past weekend (a bonus to visiting the IKEA that's in their neck of the woods). A trip to a park and decorating gingerbread houses were on the agenda for the day. It was a lot of fun for all involved! So very glad to have these dear friends in our lives!

 

 Uncle John and Corban having a "Darth Vader" fight at the playground

A work in progress

 Owen's finished product

Brennan's finished product

Box Fun

It's always fun to get a giant box. That means lots of decorating room (and even space for two little guys to fit side by side!).

 

BTLOG

Last night, we went to Andrew Peterson's "Behold The Lamb Of God" concert. For the fourth time since 2006. Can't. Get. Enough. Billed as "the true tall tale of the coming of Christ", it's become something of a tradition for us to go. Thankfully, he comes to Richmond every other year so we plan months in advance to clear our calendars for that night and attend.

If you've never been to this concert, plan now to come to Richmond in two years to attend with us. If you've never heard the album before, this is a must-listen. With a combination of fantastic musicianship and brilliant lyrics, he begins at the beginning of the Old Testament and it ultimately culminates with the birth of Christ. For both John and I, this goes far beyond music; it's truly become one of the best sermons we've ever heard.

If you've never heard anything from this album before, check out probably the most creative song:  "Matthew's Begats".

Can't recommend this highly enough. Already looking forward to two years from now (Brennan will be old enough to attend then--at almost seven years old--how scary is that?!?)!

A Mother's Heart

Brennan totally melted this mama's heart last night during our nightly devotional/prayer time. We came up with prayer list of people that we pray for regularly. Tuesdays are evenings that we pray for me. Brennan was sitting next to John, but during the middle of his prayer for me, Brennan moved over to where I was sitting on the other couch. He wrapped his almost five-year-old arms around me, laid his head down on me and said "I love you, Mama." I about melted. Brennan has never been very effusive with things like that, so this was the first time I can ever remember him taking the initiative to tell me that he loves me. Love that boy.

The thing that has been filling this mama's heart about Owen lately is how much he loves to "cook" in the kitchen. When we drop Brennan off at preschool, he immediately begins asking to go home to cook. I've been finding more excuses to be in the kitchen in the mornings lately to give him chances to actually help instead of just pretending. He was tickled this morning to get to help hold the mixer and stir things as we were making bread. His complete joy over getting to "cook" fills my heart. Love that boy.

Ella makes my heart a little heavy, especially this Christmas. Sometimes I want to get angry over the unfairness of life; this should have been our first Christmas with three. But when I find myself starting to get sad or angry, I find comfort in asking Jesus to give her a big hug from me and to let her know how much she is loved and missed. Can't wait to get to heaven to give her my own big hug! So...instead of another "first Christmas" ornament on our tree this year, Ella gets a different, special ornament. One that reminds us of how much more wonderful her Christmas will be this year (and every year). Miss that girl.

Holiday Weekend

For the time in nearly five years of living in Richmond, we braved the crowds downtown to attend the Grand Illumination celebration. It was a fun atmosphere and we got to see the Christmas lights go on for the season downtown.

 

 

The next morning, we got to watch the Richmond Christmas Parade from the comforts of the Convention Center, complete with breakfast and activities for the kids. It's become a tradition for us the last three years. What made this year more fun was that both boys were keenly interested in watching the parade this year. The biggest hit for Owen, though, was watching a semi drive by on the street behind the parade!