Zoo Trip

In an effort to use our zoo passes as much as possible before they expire (tomorrow,) we've taken a few recent trips to see the animals. We've gotten some good pictures and since I've been really lax in getting new pictures of my boys up, I'll post them for your viewing pleasure now!

Ryland enjoyed a ride to see the giraffes...

but he loved getting to splash in the kids area.

The stingrays are a fun new exhibit

Can you see Chris petting it?

Cade was into looking, but not touching

Cade loves pulling this wagon

The giraffes are his favorite!

Ryland's favorite spot again

Cade's favorite spot! A man after his father's heart.

He's a Big Boy!

What better time than a good week after the fact to post about Cade's birthday? (March 14)

I treated Cade to a day of his favorite things, so we ate cereal on the couch and watched PBS, then took a trip to the mall to ride the train and eat lunch. Cade got a fun surprise in the morning, when Chris' parents sent him a balloon bouquet!

He's saying, "I'm three!" in this picture. He's a little slow on fixing his fingers...

We let Cade open a few presents before his party, since we didn't plan to do that with everyone there.

Big, cheesy grin for the camera. We may never capture a natural smile again.

We had a very small party for Cade, following the old "as many guests as their age" rule. Cade seems to enjoy small groups anyway, so a few of the boys he plays with the most were invited for pizza, cake, and backyard fun. I didn't ask anyone's permission to post pics of their kids, so I'll forego that, but Cade really enjoyed having his friends there!

Grandma Cheryl (my mom) made Cade a cool hot air balloon cake since Cade LOVES hot air balloons. He got so excited about this cake!

Blowing out the candles. He was too quick for the photographer!

Mmm, yummy. Cade loves cake and grandma's a good cook!

I can't believe I have a three year old. Who told him it was okay to grow up? Oh well. Happy birthday, Cade!

A Little About Me

Well it's your lucky day. RAINA HAS POSTED!

Sarcasm aside, here's what I've been up to:

I started a Bible Study at church a few weeks ago. It's a Beth Moore, which I haven't done before. Sadly, it's been a long while since I've done any real Bible study, and I've been tired of feeling like I'm not growing and wondering whether I'm really pleasing God or just hanging around. I've started things before that were neat, but not necessarily hugely inspiring, but for once this is different. I think it really has reached me at a point where I've been disatisfied with a lot of things. Disatisfied with myself and with what I see in the world in particular. When I began this study, I was a week behind because my kiddos were sick during the first session. I had two weeks of home work to cram in a week in addition to my normal family committments. I found that I didn't have time to do much else, so I stopped watching TV entirely, stopped reading anything on the internet besides my email and occasionally a blog or two, and just took care of my family, studied, and prayed.

And it was great.

At first I didn't even realize that I hadn't watched TV in three weeks. I think is because for once, I was somewhat satisfied. I had things to do and didn't feel a need to sit and watch whatever was on. I wasn't a TV addict to begin with, but this was still an interesting feeling. On quiet evenings when Chris had gone to work out, I used to try to find something to watch, and then often feel guilty because very little of it is very clean, especially at night. But I needed something to fill the quiet of everyone in bed or gone from the house. I look back and think, how long has God been knocking at my door? Giving me the feeling I needed something in that solitude, but wanting me to need Him instead of TV? I think I'm going to give up TV indefinitely. I'm not going to promise never watching it again, but for now, I have no need to have it on. For me. And if you're wondering, the SuperReaders that I watched with Cade this morning doesn't count.

So that's me lately. I was going to post pics of the boys, but I think I'll start a new post for that.