Easter

Easter crept up on us so quickly that it ended up being a pretty low key day. The big storm that blew through just a few days before Easter made it difficult to get out of the house and by the time Easter arrived there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground. There was enough snow that the children weren't able to hunt for eggs outside.

I did, however, manage to get my children to go outside and pose for a photo in the snow. How can you refuse your mother, right?

Then it was time to get back inside for church to begin.

Our friends from Fort Collins actually made the trek down to us to spend Easter dinner with us. With our husbands both being pastors it was already a long morning and we were exhausted just trying to stay awake. 

Confirmation

After two grueling years of studying the Bible and the Catechism, Rachel was confirmed at the end of June.

She and four other confirmands read the Bible and took part in the Catechism memory program. In order to be confirmed, depending on their age, they must complete the program to a certain level.They listened intently to the sermon. If you'd like to hear it you can listen here, too! Now it's confirmation time! After they were confirmed these confirmands received communion for the first time alongside their classmates.

I'm so proud of the kids. They worked hard and their minds were definitely like sponges. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Right after church they took off for the mountains and the annual Catechism Retreat! So much for moving and unpacking. There's no rest for the wicked. We moved, and three days later the older children were off to camp. They had a blast only to return for one day to do laundry. Then we left again. 

March Happenings

March found us with quite a full calendar. Along with Lenten services on Wednesday evenings we added church softball to our schedule and also began a little baseball for 5 of our children. Palm Sunday came at the end of the month. We love that Sunday and children were super excited to help out with palms again this year.



Opening day of baseball was cold and dreary. In fact, it was canceled when we arrived at the field. It was that kind of a season for us. 

After the Valentine's Day Party

Wow! It's been over 2 months since I've blogged anything. Thank you for your kind comments and emails about my lack of blogging. Hopefully, I can get you caught up on what's been going on around here. 

The last half of February took a cold turn right after David completed level 8, Rachel level 6, and Anna level 2 in the Catechism memory program at church. We found ourselves with quite a bit of snow causing us to hit the slopes and do a little sledding. We even convinced one of our church members to join us after he plowed our driveway. We're so spoiled! The cold weather didn't stop us from heading out to see the Glass Slipper at the Buell theater. It was the perfect Valentine's day with another couple to boot!

Vacation Bible School

Genesis 1:1-31 describes how God created a perfect world in six days, including perfect weather. This became the theme of Vacation Bible School at Mt. Zion. The children made crafts, did science experiments, and played games that all had to do with water or the second day of creation.

Thomas's birthday came on the heels of vacation bible school. The kids had a fabulous week and a few days during that week I had 9 children asleep at the same time, in the afternoon.

This year Mt. Zion decided to try something new by adding science into the mix. The children studied the second day of creation which is all about water.

Water games were all the rage outside.

The children made rain sticks and rainbows in craft time.Rainbows were came in all different styles from paint to crepe paper.

Bible lessons were taught in a boat if you were in the right class.

Rebecca graduated from VBS and was a group leader for the week. She tended to the preschoolers.

Science experiments were tested during science time. Have you ever tried the pop and Mentos experiment?

There was a lot of glue and sequins used during VBS week. It was crazy fun! You can find more photos here.

Confirmation

On Pentecost our oldest daughter, Rebecca, was confirmed. It was a glorious day!

 

I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 1 Timothy 1:18b-19

She received communion for the first time.

 

It looks like we will have confirmation celebrations for the next 6 years, God willing. They are all studious in studying their catechism and the memory program has helped to encourage them along the way. Thanks be to God! 

 

Rebecca's godparents, Ryan and Sara, made a quick pit stop on their way home from visiting family. Unfortunately, they couldn't attend her confirmation because Ryan, being a pastor as well, had confirmation at his own church on the very same Sunday. We're glad they were able to stop by and visit with us!

Holy Week

Holy week began with Palm Sunday, which our children love. The children were looking forward to Palm Sunday this year, but it totally crept up on us too. How does that happen?

Can you picture Jesus, in your mind, entering Jerusalem when you see all of these palms? Thinking about it kind of gives me anxiety, but for good reasons, right? Catch the Palm Sunday sermon here.

Of course the anxiety disappeared on Easter morning and everyone was pretty excited!

Many children were were giddy with anticipation of the Easter egg hunt. Personally, I think there were too many eggs. ;) With 9 children in our home. . . well, you can only imagine.

   

The little girls are growing up too fast. I don't think I can call them babies anymore. :(

Thomas is a professional egg hunter by now. He fills his bag in record time.

Eggs were hidden in our overgrown garden that we aren't planting this year. The overgrown grass and weeds made things a little more challenging.

The adults watched from the windows wishing they were young again and longed to join the hunt.

My Lutheran Stud was in charge of the pancakes, and was outfitted by his grandmother's John Deere apron.

Church began with the procession of the cross and the choir singing in the background. It could not have been more lovely.

Our sins were forgiven, a lovely sermon was preached, and the body and blood of Christ were received.What a glorious morning. Christ has risen!

Easter afternoon was a different story. If y'all know us, you know that we usually feed a big crew at our home on the holidays. This Easter was no exception, except that at church I couldn't resist inviting more people over. (I have a soft spot for people who have no family or friends around to share the holidays.) I decided to make two 10lb hams for the occasion-one smoked on the grill and one in the oven. Well, the grill decided to smoke a little more than normal and then let out a big explosion. Of course it would be too uneventful for something not to go wrong, so naturally, we had to expect something to happen. ;) Thankfully, no one was hurt and the ham was still amazing!

The food was fantastic and the company was even better! They were so fun and intriguing that I forgot to take pics? Can you believe it?

I did get a photo of the lovely desserts. That's all that matters right? Happy Easter, y'all!

Garden Party

On Saturday my girls and I grabbed our favorite hats and headed to church for a Garden Party brunch.

It was a potluck, so I decided to bring deviled eggs. That's almost a no brainer since everyone loves them right? When you are a last minute planner deviled eggs are pretty quick and easy.

There were some pretty cute hats at the brunch along with a lot of visiting with some wonderful ladies.

Jane wore the same hat she wore in her wedding over 60 years ago. Isn't she adorable? I just love the ladies in our church. They're so fun and sweet!

They also work like crazy during the fall and winter months to make quilts that they donate to various places in Colorado.

This year they made 193 quilts that will be sent to area hospitals, nursing homes, and to others in need. I can't say enough about how wonderful our church is not only to our family, but also to people in the community. We had a great time visiting with all of the ladies and even won a few door prizes.