Lots of real life stuff to do that I enjoy far more than computing.
We finished up hosting our week-long Cadets last night. Very busy, lots of work, but all very well worth it. They were each such a blessing to our Corps(church). Most of them stayed with our fabulous Advisory Board members. The kids (and Paul and I too!) were exhausted every night- just the way I like it. Smile. We had a week of VeBS, Public Relations, Church Services, Fellowship Programs, Community Care Ministries, etc. I fed them all lunch and dinner every day. I sure don't know how the Duggars do it! I was only planning, shopping, preparing, cooking for 17 people for 2 meals a day. There are 21 Duggars!
We had a lovely Easter that started at 5:30am and ended at 7:00pm. The kids each got an Easter basket from the Bunny and we shared the Risen Gospel before we headed to the Corps at 7:00am. We enrolled 2 Cradle Roll Babies, 3 Jr. Soldier Children, and 5 Adherent (Adult Members) at church. I LOVE our Church!!! We took the Cadets to Casa El Mirador for lunch after the Services, but before the 2 afternoon services at the nursing homes. There were 7 Cadets and 3 accompanying Officers. There were 7 Chouinards. We could've been our own Brigade. I LOOOVE having a big family, (even if I do get shy and about it.)
David started Baseball season. He has also been building amazing electrical things in his free time. He is such an engineer. He is so smart, I'm concerned that things just come to easy for him and he won't be ready for the day a real challenge comes his way. He is really enjoying playing with Mary lately too and is a good brother and son.
Elijah has been doing more at the Church, leading Sunday School Assembly is his heart's desire right now. At school, he whips through his schoolwork and spends lots of his time in other classsrooms tutoring the other children. He even goes to the 3rd grade class (he's in 2nd) to help. That's all well and good, but not enough in my book. He is so ambitious to learn, just like his brother, and I don't want that wasted, and that concerns me too. He is a passionate little guy.
Ann is learning how to read. I'm teaching her phonics, math concepts, and how to tell time. Aunt Kathleen taught her how to spell "two" and "three" while we were gone and I find it written all over the house. Ann goes to dance still and is practicing for her June recital. She is always singing Jesus songs, in fact the other night I had to tell her to go to sleep because she wouldn't stop singing. She is a sweetheart!
Hannah is practicing her free will. She is testing her boundaries, but nothing too bad other than spraying Mary in the face with our hair-water-sprayer. (I sprayed her in the face to see how she likes it- and she laughed like crazy! So she had to put her nose on the wall-of-shame and she cried her head off) That's just our Hannah girl. She's a spunky one and I love every bit of it. What would my world be without her! I ditched her on Paul yesterday for our Church service at the Veteran's Home while I went to Columbia Basin because I just thought 4 children for me is equal to one Hannah with Paul. Ha!ha!ha!
Mary is standing and.... bouncing! She walks all over hanging on to stuff with one hand, but when we all get around her to encourage her to walk, she just stands there, hands up in the air, and bends her knees up and down laughing her head off (because we are too). Over the last week, she started pushing herself up to stand (and bounce), but she hasn't figured out that she could let go of the furniture to stand too. She says "Mooooom" (cuz the other kids do), and "Da" and "By-By" and points like crazy to stuff she wants.
Thank you, Lord, for LIFE!
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