Rebekah's Birthday

Rebekah is 5 years old!!!

Well today was Rebekah's 5th birthday. I can't believe she is getting so big. We had planned to spend the day at a Maple Festival tapping trees and tasting maple syrup, but God had other plans. Friday we woke up to several inches of snow and more on the way. This morning it was 20 degrees at 10 am. Well, maple sap only runs if the night time temp is below freezing and day time temp is above. If the sap isn't moving there is no festival. All the local Maple farms were closed, we are hoping as the weather warms we can try again.

Anyway, we scrapped the Maple plans. We had a great day at home and a fun birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. The kids had a blast. They were glad to get to run and play. They were able to be as loud and rowdy as they wanted. Rebekah had a great day.

HAPPY EASTER

HAPPY EASTER!

HE IS RISEN!

First Communion

Last night Reagan and Trey took their 1st communion. The service was wonderful. The pastor told the kids that Christ had longed to share this meal with them since creation. He talked of how many are called but few are chosen and how they are chosen children of God. The pastor spoke of the sacrifice that Christ had made for each of us and how we could not have eternal life without it. I know that both Reagan and Trey have had a relationship with God for some time now, but I was brought to tears to know that they can now share in this taste of the fellowship to come. The elders and pastors of the church prayed very personalized blessings over each child. I was touched to see how much effort went in to getting to know each child. I am thankful that God brought us here for this time. I know that God has great plans for Reagan and Trey. I can't wait to see how these two effect the world for Christ!!! PRAISE GOD!!!

Troy

This week we have been doing a little exploring, close to home. Monday we explored Troy. The town of Troy is about 10 miles from our house. We went to Oakwood Cemetery. This is one of the oldest cemeteries in the area and has so many beautiful large mausoleums and grave markers. It was a great opportunity to teach the kids that no matter how much your have or what you do in this life it is temporary. The words written on your headstone and the monuments to man will fade. In less than two-hundred years, the names, dates and words are worn off the stones making them unrecognizable. We need to make sure we store our treasures in heaven where time can not wipe them away.

We saw the grave of "Uncle Sam". Those who don't know the story Samuel Walton was a local butcher that would bring barrels of meat to the soldiers in the war of 1812. He would mark the barrels with U.S. The men knew that Sam had provided the meat and mistakenly thought the us stood for Uncle Sam. Soldiers began to refer to all government owned things as "Uncle Sam's" this trend caught on and stuck. Samuel Walton died in 1854. His grave was marked with a humble 2 ft. piece of stone that simply read his name, birth, and death. A larger monument was built later by his grand-daughter and a flagpole was added by our government. About a hundred yards from his grave was a gorgeous panoramic view of the city of Troy and the Hudson River.

Next we went to the Cohoes Falls. The Cohoes Falls are 75 feet high and 1,000 feet wide. Their flow is most impressive in springtime, sometimes running at 90,000 cubic feet of water per second. It was beautiful. It is the second largest falls in the State of New York.

The temperature outside was a warm 34 degrees outside so we decided to finish our day by warming up and taking naps before playing at the park.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Saturday we went into Albany for the St. Patrick's Day Parade. We had a great time. There were so many people there! We watched many fire-fighters and police officers marching in full dress uniforms. We saw more than 12 different bag-pipe bands in full Celtic dress. It was really cool. Abigail loved the marching bands and had a great time shaking her pockets. (that is what she calls it) Rebecka said she liked all the drums. Reagan liked the Irish dancers best, and Ethan liked seeing the soldiers and shaking their hands.

Kids Expo

This weekend we went to a Kids Expo in Albany. We had a great time. There was so much to see and do. We walked to booth after booth playing games and collecting coloring books, stickers, and pencils. The kids enjoyed getting their faces painted, playing wii and guitar hero. Home Depot had a meeting room set up to let the kids build something. Evelyn, Abigail, and Rebekah all built bird houses with some assistance. Reagan, Trey, and Ethan built boats that look simular to the mayflower. Check with your local Home Depot they have free classes for kids the first Saturday of every month. At the end of the day we watch a musical "The life and Times of Junie B. Jones", at the Egg. It is a really cool building. Abigail said it looked like a cereal bowl.