An Update....

Greetings! Spring is finally warming us up....the kids and I had been finding ways of entertaining ourselves in the spring rain while praying it stops soon....well, this week, it HAS! So we are spending more time outdoors.

The kids are growing so fast....especially Zanna! She will be 6 months old on Thursday! Meanwhile, Toby is going through another TERRIBLE part of being two. He is driving me to the drink...coffee, that is. With his frequent night wakings and early morning whining, I have been known to drink up to 4 cups of caffeinated beverages per day....poor nursing Zanna.

Promise is maturing and getting to be such a BIG helper! Her delightful imagination never ceases to astonish me! What a smart cookie she is!

In other news....Toby's tubes did not fall out...he just scratched the inside of his ear pretty bad causing his pillow to have a pool of blood on it. However, it was a good thing we ended up in our ear, nose, and throat doctor's office in that the doc did a short routine check on Promise only to find tonsilitis AGAIN! Instead of giving her another set of antibiotics, he has scheduled her to get her tonsils out in early June. Poor girl. Good thing we're getting it done before school starts in September!

This week she is battling Pink Eye again....I am hoping the tonsilectomy will take care of the constant sickness she endures! Her immune system is so low!

At the end of this week, Promise, Toby, Zanna and I will make the trek down to Oregon to hang with my parents over Mother's Day while Tim heads to Vernon for more managerial training. While I am looking forward to being with my family, I dread being away from my wonderful hubby-man for so long.
So here's what we've been up to in pictures....

 Today we washed the van for our visit to Grandma and Papa's.... and there they are pictured below!
It's their anniversary today....#37? I think? I got incredible parents. I like them!

Above is our nightly routine...Tim or myself get the privilege of reading the kids a story (Promise is a great listener, while Toby pesters Zanna while she tries to eat the book...)

Zanna ADORES Promise and Promise is a great big sister....just hoping Promise doesn't teach her new trick...rolling her eyes in disgust when mommy says, "No." When did my 4 year-old become 13??

Any moment we get to go to the park, we try and beat the rain........Zanna like the swing, too!

What's that....the SUN?? YES!

Here comes my beautiful girl!

Toby loves Zanna, too....just a little TOO much sometimes....

We often send Daddy pics of us over his phone while he's at work so he feels more a part of our day since he works such long hours....the one above is us saying, "HI, DADDY!"

And precious Zanna....she is a BIG delight. Though teething, she is always smiling....or almost always.

We have mandatory quiet time each day where each kiddo heads to their room to play or rest...VERY seldom do they nap, but today, this is how I found Toby....totally asleep. :)

Promise is working on her fine motor skills using tiny crayons on the easel. It's really been helping!

Then, Steve and Christina watched Toby, Promise and Zanna this passed weekend for a few hours so that Tim and I could have a date. We headed out to Mission for a walk on Monastery property...that is, Westminster Abbey! No, not the one in London. The grounds are beautiful and the monks allow visitors to walk the trails and visit the cathedral.

Admiring the monks' cows in their apple orchard.....

The beautiful cathedral...

We happened to be there just as the sun broke through the clouds letting in beautiful rays of light!

Tim and I so enjoyed our walk in peace and quiet...no sound of whiney toddlers, crying babies, or responsibility....ahhh....after 11 years, we're closer than ever and the best of friends....he is my greatest time.

Tim and I have been more aware of how blessed we are these days. After having a friend experience the Boston Marathon bombings, a friend and her family go through a very sudden trauma, and several others fighting unexplained illnesses, we are grieving with some and rejoicing with others and praying more fervently. As I gaze out our front window noticing a beautiful Robin slurping worms from our lawn, I am reminded that God sees and cares deeply even for the "sparrow" or Robin, as the case may be....His eye looks on and takes care to see that she gets her next meal...He points her to Tim and Bethany's luxurious lawn (I mean luxurious in the sense of worm-filled! We got lots!) and she goes without question....it may be that our neighbour's yard houses a cat. :)

But how much more does the Lord care for us even though we experience all the pains of a world tainted by sin? He cares deeply for those that are going through hell on earth. He directs our paths and while the path may not always be safe, He has promised to be WITH us always. And where He is, there is peace that surpasses all understanding.

Walking through the monastery forest with Tim was such a great reminder of that peace....the solitude and silence of the grounds were healing from the wounds of the noise of life.....

Be blessed.