Cousin Grace

Grace Louise Hanson was born May 8th around 10 p.m. Congratulations John and Amy! She is so beautiful!
We took a quick day trip up to Kirkland to visit them in the hospital. Emily and Alaina were so proud to be able to hold her.
We were also so glad to see Great Grandma holding her 7th great grandchild! I love this picture of her holding Grace. She looks so happy!

The Three Little Gardeners

After much topsoil hauling, raking, shoveling, and tractor riding the girls and I have completed our little garden. I shouldn't say completed I guess, there is still work to be done. We planted corn, green beans, carrots, cucumbers, sunflowers, and pumpkins. Emily and Alaina put the seeds in the ground (Lila was napping at the time) and they can't wait to see our little plants grow. Hopefully they will survive without being eaten by the deer in my previous post! We will post some pics when we see some sprouts!

Oh, deer!

The deer have started coming down from the forest and feeding. The girls get all excited when they see them out the window. The other day there was a mother and its fawn daintily munching in the neighbors empty lot. We are surrounded by God's beautiful creation out here!

Happy Guy - Not at all Camera Shy

Just had to share some pics of our happy little Rylan! Whenever I get the camera out Rylan gets really excited and knows its time to put on a show. His new little act is squinting his eyes closed, throwing his head back and laughing.

Broke down and busted

Well, Ryan's old dump truck broke down this last week. The motor is kaput. It now rests quietly under a blue tarp, its insides all torn out. Ryan is looking around and trying to decide if he should rebuild the engine or find another truck. Although I'm not excited that the old truck broke down I am very pleased with the fact that Ryan has been working on the backyard and moving more dirt since he can't haul any more rock. Keith (friend from church) came over and moved a whole bunch of dirt out of the backyard while a group of guys stared at the dead motor for a couple of hours. He likes to work on the excavator - he calls it his therapy. Ryan gave me a lesson on the excavator as well so I have been practicing my scooping and dumping. The girls are looking forward to the backyard being completed because that is where their trampoline will go. We haven't had it set up since we left our Lynnwood house. I can't wait either because the guest bed has become their replacement trampoline.
Make sure and check out the church blog. We actually got some photos on there!

Rebecca's Garden

I've been outside working these last couple of days on the landscaping at the entrance to our grand estate. Now we have plants growing in the dirt that surrounds us! Most of the plants we selected are blooming or soon-to-be-blooming and they really brighten the place up. I especially love the rhododendrons we found.

Happy Easter!

Sickness has been lurking about our house for the past couple of weeks. Just when we thought we were over the sniffles and coughs we got hit again. Ryan was hit hard yesterday. His temperature spiked and he slept a lot of the day because he was so wiped out. Not exactly the place a pastor wants to be the day before Easter service (or anyone for that matter.) We were joined in prayer by several church family members that Ryan would recover enough to lead Easter service. God graciously granted our request and we had a wonderful Easter celebration this morning.

Another amazing thing is talking with Emily and Alaina this year about the real meaning of Easter. They know all about the bunnies and candy but they also know MOST IMPORTANTLY that Jesus is Alive! Praise God for all he has done in our lives! Praise Jesus - our risen Savior! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!Thank you Aunt Tami for the adorable outfit for Rylan! He received many compliments at church.