The first of many graduations

Yesterday was the first of many graduations that our family will celebrate in the years to come. Levi had his preschool program and graduation. It was so cute, and he did a great job. I love watching him up on stage. With his facial expressions and contagious smile, he is a joy to watch. We all had a great evening. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I even had some tears in my eyes.

I am so thankful for the preschool that we have at our church. I think it has been Levi's favorite place to be. He has grown so much in the last two years and I'm thankful for his compassionate and energetic teachers who have loved him and encouraged him. I wish he could stay there forever, but it probably won't be very cool to be a "friendly frog" or a "happy hippo" when he's 10 years old. But next year Ben will start school a couple of mornings a week, and I know he will LOVE it.

Levi celebrating his birthday with his class and getting 5 tickles
Giving his teacher a hug and getting his "diploma"
Levi and his buddies
Meredith and Levi
During the program Michael looked over at me and noticed the tears in my eyes and said, "If you are crying at this, imagine what you'll be like at his wedding!" Thankfully we have a LONG time before that.

5 years

How did Levi go from this?
to this?
Levi is 5 years old today. There's something about the age of 5. It sounds old. He doesn't sound like a toddler or a preschooler anymore. He's FIVE.

On one hand I'm so happy and excited for Levi. What a fun time it is for him! And I'm proud of him because of who he is. But on the other hand I'm sad. Sad because these last 5 years have flown by, and it makes me realize that the next 5 will go just as quickly and soon he'll be 10.

I just adore this kid. His smile that makes me smile too. His compassion and tender heart that cares about everyone. His kisses, hugs and expressive spirit that never leave us wondering what he's thinking. His love for people and ability to remember everyone's name. Actually, his ability to remember just about everything! His joyful spirit and ability to make anything fun. His passion that keeps him loving what he loves and hating what he hates. His strong will that doesn't break for just anyone or anything. I could go on and on.

Some day Levi will grow up, and I won't be his "mommy" anymore so I'm treasuring each and every day that I get to kiss his injuries, cuddle with him to read books, bake cookies with him, jump on the trampoline with him, play baseball and soccer in the backyard, and have car races.

Our day's celebrations were simple but fun. Levi had a friend over in the morning and we picked up Chick-fil-a for lunch as a special treat. He helped me make his birthday cake this afternoon and we spent some time reading together. Grandma then arrived and after Daddy got home from work we opened presents. It was so much fun to watch him open presents. Ben might not agree with that, but soon he'll have his own birthday. Graham had some fun, too.
We let Levi choose whatever he wanted for dinner tonight, and he chose "the mac and cheese place" (otherwise known as Noodles & Company). And then it was back home where we blew out the candles on the cake.
In a couple of weeks we'll celebrate Levi and Ben's birthdays together with all of their friends but for now I'm just enjoying this time as a family to celebrate our Levi. With his last preschool program and graduation tomorrow night, all of this might be more than I can handle!

Happy Birthday, Levi! I love you to pieces.

Easter

We had the greatest Easter weekend. We celebrated with my entire family and had a wonderful time. My oldest sister, her husband and their 3 kids came from Nebraska, and my brother, his wife and their new baby girl came from Colorado to join my crew, my mom and my sister, her husband and their 4 kids. It was the first time that we were able to meet our new little niece and the first time all 11 grandkids have been together.

While it is absolutely crazy when all of us are under one roof, it is so much fun. The kids just love each other. I am so thankful for that. It brings me joy to watch my boys playing and giggling with their cousins. It was a low key weekend but with that many kids, it was still eventful.

Dyeing Easter eggs at Grandma's house (with a very fake smile)
All the cousins minus the 2 youngest at the Arboretum
Levi and Emme
I just love this picture of Levi with his oldest cousin Nathan. I know I've written about him before, but I'm so thankful that he takes such an interest in all of his little cousins.
Some of the boys
We tried really hard to get a picture of all 11 kids, but can you tell who wasn't cooperating? Graham is such a little stinker.
These 2 are just too cute
I love this picture of all the kids, but Graham still wasn't cooperating. At least it's real, right?!
The Easter bunny visited our house
Graham LOVES Bob and Larry so he was very excited about his gift
Looking through their baskets
All dressed up for church
A decent picture of our family at my mom's house after church on Sunday (Look who isn't cooperating again!)
Sweet boys (but notice who has Graham's new Easter gifts!)
I love this picture of Ben, mainly because it's a great representation of our Easter...Ben with Graham's new toys. What you don't see in the picture is Graham crying because Ben took them away from him.
Easter egg hunt at Grandma's
Graham was content with just 1 egg
And this is what Levi and Ben looked like about 3 minutes after we left my mom's house on Sunday evening
But not Graham. He was happy because he had his toys all to himself

All I Need

As a reflection on Christ's sacrifice, I have been meaning to write this post since Thursday night. Life has gotten in the way, and I have not had a spare second. But on this Saturday night before we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, I want to take a minute to reflect on His sacrifice.

I have always loved Easter. I have said before that it is my favorite holiday. But I don't think we can fully celebrate Christ's resurrection from the cross until we understand why He was on the cross in the first place. It's a beautiful story with a happy ending, but until we understand why we needed that sacrifice to be made, we can't truly be grateful for it.

Michael and I attended our church's Thursday night Tenebrae Service for the first time this year. I don't know why we haven't made this more of a priority in the years past, but I am so grateful that we were able to take that time to reflect on that night. The grief that must have been felt by Christ's friends and family is really unimaginable to us. I don't think we could ever understand the despair they must have felt. All of their hope was in Him, and He was dead. But Christ understood what was happening, and He chose to continue.

As the lights in our church grew dimmer as the service went on, the weight of my sin became heavier and heavier. I could feel it weighing me down. I was able to put myself in the shoes of Judas and everyone else who betrayed Jesus because their sin was the same as mine. And at the same time I could feel Christ take that burden from me. That burden was hanging on the cross.

There have been times in my faith journey that everything has seemed complicated and confusing because I have lost sight of what is most important. It's ironic that the more I grow and the more I learn about my God, the more I realize how little I know and how unworthy I am of the sacrifice He made for me. The more I understand His love for me, the more I understand that I could never earn that love.

I am a big sinner with a big Savior. That I am certain of. He loves me with a love I can not comprehend. His blood on the cross set me free, and it is all I need. All I need. I no longer have to carry that sin burden because He carried it for me.

Every song on Andrew Peterson's new Resurrection Letters cd is amazing, but this one has resonated deeply with me. I play it on repeat, and my boys probably have it memorized as well. If you drive past me and wonder why I have tears pouring down my face, it is probably because I am listnening to this song.

Happy Easter Eve to you and may you be blessed by these words...

All You'll Ever Need
Words and Music by Andrew Peterson

The blood of Jesus, it is like the widow's oil: it's enough to pay the price to set you free. It can fill up every jar and every heart that ever beat. When it's all you have it's all you'll ever need.

The blood of Jesus, it is like the leper's river running humble with a power you cannot see. Seven times go under, let the water wash you clean. Only go down to the Jordan and believe. Only go down in the Jordan and believe. And I need it, I need it. The closer that I grow, the more I come to know how much I need it.

The blood of Jesus it is like Elijah's fire, falling on the altar of your faith. All the wisdom of the world could never conjure up a spark, but no power of Hell could ever quench this flame. No power of Hell could ever touch this flame. And I need it, I need it. The closer that I grow, the more I come to know how much I need the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus, it is like the widow's oil: when it's all you have it's all you'll ever need. It is all you'll ever need.

The adventures of Ben

We moved Ben into a bed about a month ago. He climbed in and out of his crib just like it was a bed so we decided we needed to make the move. While the plan is for Ben and Levi to soon share a room, we wanted Ben to get used to sleeping in a bed before we moved him in. My sister was kind to lend us their toddler bed, and Ben was very excited about his "big boy bed." I let him pick out a new sheet and pillowcase (trains, of course), and he is very proud.

The move has not been without adventure. Ben slept from 7:30pm to 7:30am every night since he was 12 weeks old. He has always been the best sleeper. But for some reason he thinks the bed is a great place to play. The silly little guy sits in there for hours and just plays. I walked in there one night, and he had every light in his room on and was just sitting in his bed playing. And a few nights ago I was cleaning up in the kitchen long after putting all the boys to bed, and I heard someone in the playroom. I assumed it was Michael cleaning up in there (what was I thinking?), but when Michael walked in from the garage I got a bit scared. But I soon found out that it was just Ben. He was playing trains like he didn't have a care in the world. This kid cracks me up! And he's really smart, too, because he never does any of this in a defiant way. Somehow he makes disobedience cute.

Last weekend Michael and I turned on a movie right after putting the boys to bed. We had Ben's monitor on and after only hearing Ben for a few minutes, I remember commenting that Ben went to bed really easily. But then later that night after the movie, this is what I found walking up the stairs...
Sweet Ben had come out of his room and fell asleep at the top of the stairs. He actually looked pretty comfortable.
But tonight takes the cake. Long after the boys went to bed I went upstairs and noticed Ben's door was open. I assumed he had just opened his door and was sleeping soundly in his bed so imagine my shock when I discovered that his bed was empty. I quickly looked around his room and into his closet, but he was nowhere. I then went into our room and found this...
He had made himself a little bed on the floor right beside our bed. Again, somehow he makes disobedience cute. He didn't cry. He didn't bother us. He just took action and made a bed for himself where he wanted it.
I laughed, made Michael come and see it, took a picture and then moved him right back into his room.
At least he tried.

Spring Break Day 5

Today was definitely fun and filled with activity. Spring break week has worn me out! I think I need a vacation next week.

Michael took the day off today, which was so fun. He took 2 days off this week just to hang out with us. As far as I can remember, he has never done that! His days off have always been for a vacation or some other purpose. He has been working so hard and under a lot of stress lately so I think it was good for him to take some time off and just hang out.

We went to Paradise Park today. It's like a childrens museum and play place combined. Our boys have always loved it there. It was quite crowded today because of Spring Break, but the boys still had a great time. They played in the grocery store, the pizza parlor, in the water and outside. I am happy to report that there were no injuries and nobody was lost today. It's a miracle that Graham wasn't lost because this child walks around with no concern for his parents' location.

The greatest part of the day was watching Levi and Ben play together. They really are the very best of friends. Sometimes I need to be reminded of just how sweet their relationship is. They are both also very protective of Graham, and I know he will soon be a part of this friendship.

Here are some pics of the day...
(I love this picture of Ben even though the camera focused on the water toys instead of Ben's face)
Don't you just love Michael's new bag?!...
We're ending this day with family movie night. Michael and Levi are at Blockbuster right now picking out a movie. Michael called a little while ago and said they had about 25 they were choosing from. I can't wait to see what they come up with and how many they come home with!

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Spring Break!