My Baking Assistant

He helps me dump ingredients, mix, and as you can see, clean up. I do not have to wash that rubber spatula as much when he takes care of removing chocolate from it. Although, on the other hand, I do have to wash him (and his clothes) more.

You should have heard the cheers...

...when the doorbell rang and it was Uncle Bill. There is never any doubt that our children are big fans of his. Its amazing...he's like a magnet...my kids are stuck to him the whole time he is over!

...and now I'm off to bed. Its only 8:30, but I'm falling asleep as I type this. :) Holidays wear me out.

The Price of Children

One of my friends emailed this to me, and I thought I'd post it...it says it all very well.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition..

By 20 $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741..38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.'Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* Naming rights . First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodlewreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:

* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing,criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match..

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!

Happy Easter!

Our Easter Eve

What a day! Between playdates, coloring eggs, egg hunts, and an impromptu family gathering, I do believe we managed to do it all.

Henry and a friend went to an Easter Egg Hunt...for eggs that were dropped out of a HELICOPTER!!!! How cool is that?!
Caroline reminded her Grandma Orton that we "always" have an Easter Egg Hunt at her house. So even though we are spending Easter with Dave's side of the family this year, my parents had us over for that egg hunt their granddaughter requested.

Evan has a bit of a sweet tooth. After he had his fair share of candy from the egg hunt, he decided to take all of the candy out of his eggs, under my watchful eye. He would bring each piece of candy to me and ask me, "I eat the candy?" I would answer, "No, Evan. We are all done with the candy." With that, he would throw his candy in his bucket and respond, "I don't want it." Ohhhhhh, I get it. You didn't want it anyway, huh, Evan?!

A new bike for Miss Caroline!

Caroline's last bike was getting very small for her. Since she is really wanting to start riding without training wheels like her big brothers, we felt she needed the right size equipment.

Just thought that the following was a sweet picture of the three boys together...watching Tom and Jerry, sweet Seth with his arm around Evan.

Girly Pancakes

See what you have to put up when you have a little sister in this house?!

Caroline woke up first this morning, and requested that we make "Easter Bunny Pancakes." I wasn't sure how I was going to do that, but this is what I came up with. Not too bad, I thought. Caroline loved it, and suggested that we make some up for the boys. The picture shows Henry's reaction. I guess he would have preferred more manly colors. ;)

Easter Flashback

Time is flying...These pictures were taken last year at this time. Enjoy!