Mother's Day 2015

I had a great Mother's Day this year. I have thought much about this post and I have a lot to say, but they words aren't coming right now.  Maybe one day I can write them all down......

This bloomed on Mother's Day!  A special gift from Jesus!

My darlings scrambled that morning and gathered their special things for me.

Ashlyn gave me a card and a sour cream container filled with tiny bits of shredded paper that she shredded herself - she was SO proud and it made my heart just fill with love for her!

Jeren gave me a card and a book of Guatemala someone gave us before we came here - he was so sweet and happy that he thought of that.  I love it that he was so happy to have a gift for me.

Megan gave me a card and a "massage coupon" for a free foot or hand massage! I just love her heart!!

Owen gave me a card and said his gift was a hug.......I love those kinds of gifts!

Kristyn gave me a very sweet card telling me how much she loved me and then she gave me a picture of a lilly that she drew!  I can't wait to frame it and hang it on the wall.

Keith and I got to go out on a real date on Friday before Mother's Day.  The missionary girl living here with us (Mikah) asked if she could keep all of them and feed them supper.  That was so thoughtful of her and we thoroughly enjoyed being together and riding around Jalapa on the moto laughing our heads off - I'm sure we were quite a sight, but we didn't care one bit!

On Mother's Day we went to the church Sunday morning that they call the "Third Church" and then in the evening we went to "Central Church" across the street and down the block from our house.  There are four Emmanuel churches here in Jalapa.

They honored the oldest mother in the congregation.

They gave each mother a hand made tiny corsage to wear...that was so special.

It was a special day for me.

~Crystal

Hide and Seek With a Lizard...

Have you ever played Hide and Seek with a lizard?

No, you say?

Let me show you what you've been missing out on.


This handsome guy was just looking for a fun game of Hide and Seek....

Jeren was more than happy to take on the challenge

Mr. Lizard tried hiding in a brick cut out, but Jeren was hot on this trail

So Mr. Lizard took to the backside of the brick

But Mr. Lizard didn't take into account that his tail is quite long and it gave him away

Jeren had the upper hand on the game at this point

So Mr. Lizard took on another approach to hiding

But Jeren cheated had the bright idea of coming around to Mr. Lizard's side of the wall

Mr. Lizard had to get creative now

Jeren's quick eye didn't let him hide for long....Jeren thought it was pretty funny

Mr. Lizard was quite disappointed that his treasured hiding spot had been found out

He tried once again to go the brick route

But then Ashlyn got involved and poor Mr. Lizard whirled around and took for the high country

Imagine Mr. Lizards surprise when Jeren was able to climb up to the high country, too

So back down Mr. Lizard goes

The gate was a perfect place to hide behind for Mr. Lizard to catch his breath for a bit

Finally, Mr. Lizard had the upper hand on the Hide and Seek game

After much searching Mr. Lizard was spotted in the plants and Ashlyn thought his hide-out was quite hilarious

In desperation, and for his on personal safety at this point, Mr. Lizard ran into the big lavender bush and got lost in the green

After a few minutes of looking (and knocking down the lavender bush) Mommy intervened on Mr. Lizards life and told Jeren and Ashlyn to call it a game.

If you ever get a chance to play Hide and Seek with a lizard, Jeren and Ashlyn would highly recommend it.....and Mommy says it's highly entertaining to watch. ;)

Tea Party Time!

Last week the girls and I decided to have a tea party.  Each girl wanted to make something and pretend like she was having a cooking show.  Kristyn decided to make the Lemonade. She picked limes from the tree out back and squeezed them out, all the while carefully explaining each step and tips on how to make the best lemonade. :)  It was very sweet!!   Ashlyn and Megan was a very captive audience.

Ashlyn and I made the cookie dough for the cookie bowls.  She was so excited the whole time we were making it. She explained every step we were doing in making our dough - "Now, you put in 4 cups of flour, but don't make a mess"

Then we rolled it out and cut it with a cup.

Next we laid the cut pieces out over an up-side-down muffin pan.

Proud Miss

Baked for 10-15 min and we had cookie bowls.

I filled them with ice cream

Megan was in charge for putting the sprinkles on and she in great detail explained the best way to put the sprinkles on.

Perfection!

Once the tea party was set up, we added frozen strawberries to the lemonade for ice cubes.

It was a "girls only" party because Daddy had the boys, but Jeren squealed in the house about the time we sat down and got to join in the party.  He was very pleased with himself. :)

My three girls!

Ashlyn wanted to dress up, so she wrapped herself in a curtain. :)

Yum!

It was a lovely Tea Party that we won't soon forget.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoying our party with us.