Back to the Cross

A couple of weeks ago Jonas was in Trinity's musical, "Back to the Cross".  The kids did a great job sharing the message that everything comes back to Jesus and His sacrifice for us on the cross.  Jonas' class danced to a cute song, and Jonas even got to use a cane as a prop.  Fun!  I have to make special mention of my beautiful niece, who did an awesome job singing with her trio.  Way to go, Bethany!

Brynn's 1st Communion

Brynn celebrated her 1st Communion yesterday.  She looked beautiful, but more importantly, she is learning more and more every day about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us.  She loves the Lord, and we love her, too!

Brynn and all the other 1st communicants

Brynn participated in much of the service.  She presented flowers during the gifts, and she read a petition during the prayers.  She did a great job.

Receiving her certificate

Some family shots

Everyone came over to our house for lunch after the church service.  It was a gorgeous day, and we got to spend a lot of the afternoon outside.  

I couldn't resist adding this cute picture of Gavin with his Uncle Mike.

Great job, Brynn.  We love you!

Easter

We started off our Easter celebration on Saturday at Grandma and Papa's house.  The kids searched for chocolate and plastic eggs and baskets that Grandma made them.  Jonas went to his dad's after the hunt and the rest of us stayed for a yummy dinner.

Brynn's favorite part of her basket - $5

Bransen's favorite part of his basket - $5

Jonas's favorite part of his basket - Glow in the dark axe

Gavin's favorite part of his basket - Mickey bib and swimming trunks for Disney

Easter morning the kids  searched for their baskets from the Easter bunny before we went to church.

After church we went to Grandma and Grandpa Gabel's for lunch.  We made sure we got our picture taken all together in our fancy Easter clothes.  This is also the first whole family picture since Gavin was born!

Gavin also met his Great Grandma Peppy.

We hope your Easter was as blessed as ours!

Science Fair

Brynn and Bransen participated in a science fair at their school last month.  They both worked really hard and did a great job.  We are proud of them!

Bransen did an experiment to see what kind of light bulb could make the water hotter.

 Brynn made "boats" out of index cards and used different kinds of dish soap to see which kind propelled the boat farthest.

Williamsburg, VA

So I try to post the "big"events that happen in our family on here, but I missed our February break vacation!  We did take a trip to Williamsburg, VA.  We hoped to get down to somewhere that was at least a little bit warmer, but of course, they experienced a major snowstorm while we were there.  The whole town shut down for a couple days, so we stayed at the resort and enjoyed the pool and some of the activities they had to do there. 

Pool time!  The kids spent A LOT of time in the pool during the week we were there...  

And in the outdoor hot tub, despite the snow...

And in the hot tub in our condo.

 The resort also provided an activity where the kids made "tie-dye" t-shirts with sharpies and rubbing alcohol.  They all did a nice job, and Jonas especially liked this activity and spent about an hour and a half decorating his shirt.

 Of course, there was plenty of time just spent in the condo playing and enjoying their electronics.   

By mid-week the weather did clear up enough for us to the Jamestown Settlement museum.  All of the interactive stuff was really neat.  The kids had a great time pretending to be Native Americans mashing corn and shooting bows and arrows.  We also got to tour a ship that showed us how the English traveled over to America.  So many people on such a little ship!  It was fun to talk to the staff about life back then - they were all in costume and stayed in character the whole time.

The Powhatan Indian Village

The ship that brought the English to Virginia

The English forts - They did a shooting demonstration...it was loud!  Bransen was chosen to help demonstrate some of the weapons.

We watched how they used glass blowing to make cool stuff.  Thankfully our kids didn't break anything in the store :-)

We also went to Colonial Williamsburg.  We took the whole family to walk around for a couple hours, and then Grandma Gabel, Brynn and I went back the next day to see more things.  The boys chose to stay at the condo and swim.

Despite the weather, we had a great trip. Most of all, we enjoyed spending the quality time with our family.  

Gavin David - The Newest Part of our Family!

Gavin is over 2 weeks old now, so I'd say it's about time we introduce him here on the family blog.  He was born on March 12th, at 8:34 PM.  He weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs 3 oz, and measured 19 1/8".  

We were so blessed with the timing of his delivery.  I had just finished a day of teaching (I was actually still at school), and Duane had just arrived home from work.  As I was packing up to go home, my water broke!  Thanks to my wonderful friends Lindsay and Katie, I was soon on my way to the hospital with Jonas.  My mom and Lisa met us there, and dad came to pick up Jonas and take him for the night.  Duane arrived shortly after I was taken to a room, and only a couple of hours after that, Gavin was here!  Less than 4 hours from start to finish, so I certainly can't complain about the labor and delivery.  Gavin was kind to me :-)

Hanging out with Jonas in the lobby until Papa arrived (no kids under 14 were allowed on the patient floors)

Woo hoo, Duane's here!

Gavin's blood sugar levels were low, so we had to supplement with formula a couple times before he got them back up.  

Aunt Lisa and Grandma stayed for the delivery, and not being one to miss out on anything, Uncle Mike showed up soon after to meet his new little nephew :-)

We had lots of visitors the next day.  Gavin met his Papa, Aunt Mary, Uncle Matt, Grandma and Grandpa Gabel, Aunt Deanne, Cousin Austin, Mrs. C, and Pastor Krueger.  Whew!  What a busy day!  We sure are blessed to have so many awesome friends and family.

After getting poked in the foot what seemed like a zillion times to make sure his blood sugar levels were up, we were cleared to go home.  We dressed Gavin up in his outfit and he had his first car ride (which he slept through, of course!)

He has been a pretty mellow and calm baby so far, and we absolutely love him!  Thank you, God, for this gift to our family!