Easter 2013

This year it was just our little Boone family, party of five here on Easter. It turned out to be wonderfully wonderful and we had a great day.
I was so exciting to see the kiddos catching on to the miracle of Easter and what we really celebrate every day in our Christian walk ...
He died, that we might live.
He mightily saved us from death, gracing us with eternal life.
He thought of us above all.
For God so loved the world.
What love is this?
Oh! Amazing love.
Saturday we went to an Easter Egg Hunt on the High School football field. Picture a gazillion eggs, but five gazillion children. And freezing temperatures. And teenagers from the history club trying to lead "the chicken dance" for toddlers who were throwing tantrums one right after the other waiting to fill their baskets
with no interest in said chicken dance (does anyone have any interest in the chicken dance? No? That's what I thought.)




After they blew the whistle the five gazillion kids darted onto the field getting their 2-4 eggs per person. And it was over in like 45 seconds. Kinda wanted my money back.
It did turn out to be a pretty day so we played all day at the park which was lovely.
Aaron went out that night to fill Easter baskets ... He said I always get to do the "fun stuff" and he wanted a turn (made me laugh). I've never seen more candy in my life. Wish I would have taken a pic, he did a great job. :)
Easter morning we woke up a little late (shocker) and so Easter baskets were eaten thru in the car in attempt to spoil their cute outfits. Good thing I snapped a pic early on!




Love these lambies!
Our series at church the last few weeks preceding Easter were about Epic Fails prepping us for a fabulous sermon on the Epic Win we have in Christ.
We are so, so blessed.
Dalton and Sawyer sang in big church that morning. Cutest, cutest thing.
We went to brunch at The Cellar in Owego, NY with the Knoxesband Noordhoek's; the food was oh-so-delish and the company was delightful. See ...












The rest of the day included looonggg naps and watching The Bible mini-series.
So thankful He rose! Thank you Jesus! Hurry back!
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Location:Owego, NY

Spring Break with My Lovies at Home and in NYC

So, this morning as I was drinking my chai tea latte and wishing I was anywhere but in my germ-filled house full of the yuckiest stomach virus from nowhere but the deepest pit in hell which is clearly some kind of demonic attack that will not overtake us ... Whew ... deep breaths ... We're going to live... Right? Someone please remind me we're going to live ...
I looked down at my little fun souvenir mug from our Spring Break trip a couple weeks ago and realized I never posted any pics of the fun few days my mom and "little" brother Emerson came up to visit.

Ahhh, happier days. Let's reminisce ... Shall we?

Mom and Emerson didn't get in until late, late that Tuesday night but of course the boys and I waited up on Aaron to pick them up and bring them home to us like we were waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve.
I was somehow still cleaning at 11:30 (I blame it on all the little people. And the bigger person who is still a little confused about where the hamper is ... I kid, I kid).

I literally was so unbelievably giddy that my mama was in my house that I woke up at 5:30am to get up to wait on her to come drink coffee with me. I miss that part so much I can't stand it.




See my ridiculously big smile ... That's pure joy, peeps. (She took Avery to school with me, that's why she has her coat on ... We have heat in PA, not air conditioning mind you, but we do have heat.)

Dede spoiled us pretty much the entire time she was here. She's kinda crazy special.
On Wednesday we took the boys to do fun things since Avery was getting to go to NYC and all ... Chili's and Toys R Us are practically the same thing as a weekend in the city, right? Yeahhhh ... Not so much. But ya coulda fooled Dalton and Sawyer.









So Mom, Emerson, Avery and I woke up super early (read: 7am) Thursday morning to drive to Secaucus, NJ about 3 and a half hours away, where we were planning to catch a train ... But we couldn't find the train station ... Clearly vital. So Mom in all her infinite wisdom comes up with a lovely plan (from the passenger seat) when she exclaims, "Rebekah, the DoubleTree has Valet, let's just drive into Manhattan, let's do it!"
Reminder: she's in the passenger seat; I'm driving. So that "we" she's talking about is her sitting in the front seat looking at the lights, sipping some Starbucks and texting my sisters. I would be the one anxiously maneuvering the traffic of New York City where people walk out in front of your car because they're in a hurry, and insane taxi drivers that may or may have been freshly immigrated to American soil completely ignore all traffic signals/ lines/ and just common sense and decency in general.

But, somehow Mom made it sound doable, and maybe it was. But it was also EXTREMELY stressful. However, we did it and survived without hitting pedestrians or even getting flipped off by any cab drivers that we know of. So, hey- I call that a success.

We celebrated our survival with brunch at a touristy haunt in the theater district that we really like- Juniors.






Then spent the rest of the morning going places we'd never gone on our girly excursions of the past: M & M World, The Disney Store, Toys R Us, etc. Quite a few tears were shed at the realization we left A's American Girl Doll at home, thus eliminating our trip to get Kaya's nappy hair braided back to American Girl perfection at the little girl Mecca -The American Girl Doll store. Oops. But, she pulled herself together when we found an H & M and she could get her shopping on.

Avery sort of ran the show... Which was fine.

Unfortunately it was FRIGID. I will never ever go back that time of year ... So windy and cold and just not fun weather. To be honest, most of the time it was just way too much for Avery- All the walking, plus the weather, just exhausted her. She had moments of delight, but that was mainly while we were eating ... Like mother, like daughter.

Here's the Instagram-version of our trip since I couldn't talk myself into taking my big camera out and about.


We were oh-so-sad that the Lion King was totally sold out ... Next time, sister!




In line for the Ferris Wheel at Toys R Us ... She was pretty pumped about it.



Loved it.

I didn't take any pictures of walking through St. Patrick's Cathedral, but Avery loved that too. We lit candles and prayed and just sat in the amazing structure. It's still having a lot of reconstruction right now, which was kind of a bummer, but it is just lovely. So, I'm really glad we made the stop.

That night we walked next door to The Palace Theater to see Annie.








It. Was. Darling. I totally thought Avery would sleep through the whole thing because she was so exhausted, but she was absolutely enamored with the whole show. Literally on the edge of her seat the whole show. We all loved it- even Emerson! Those kids were crazy talented ... encore! encore! (Do you say that at the theatre? No, wait, I think I meant Bravo, yes- Bravo! Bravo!)
We're hoping to go back for a couple days with Aaron's mom, Aunt Mandy and Avery's favorite person in the whole wide world, Maci, this summer and Avery is already counting down to seeing it again.




Not gonna lie, she was pretty pumped about the hotel stay. She's always extremely excited when we stay in hotels, so it was a highlight for her.




Okay, so I've only been to the city a few times, so I'm obviously not an expert, but Bond 45 is definitely our fav spot for brunch and we've gone back every time. It's DELISH!









We were going to do the NBC Studio Tour with Emerson but it was sold out for the day, so we just looked around.






Then we did a touristy walk through Rockefeller Plaza ...



Clearly Avery was wearing thin.

We also did one of my very favorite things to do in NYC, a carriage ride through Central Park for almost two hours, which makes me laugh typing out. But we totally love those as I mentioned after our last trip too. :)


How huge are Emerson's feet? I swear people mentioned them everywhere we went. I'm sure it had nothing to do with those neon yellow shoes you could see from the top of the Empire State Building.
I shouldn't make fun since he was more than gracious enough to let me borrow his humungous coat so I could pass mine to Mom ... (That's my way of saying I'm not quite as poofy in real life as I look in these pictures.) ;)



We stopped at Magnolia Bakery for some cupcakes and tea and then at one more yummy eatery before deciding we had really had enough fun for one weekend (read: Avery was falling apart).
So we made our way back through the streets of Manhattan:



And back to our quiet little town where we belong.



Loved, loved having them here for almost a week ... I just love them with my whole heart and am so blessed when they get to come live life with us for a little while. Being able to reach out and hug on them whenever I want was far too wonderful.
xoxoxo dear ones, come back soon!!


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If Only ...

If only my laptop hadn't bit the dust last week I would post pictures and the like ... but the iPad will suffice for now. I'm still praying for a glorious resurrection ... it's Easter season and all ... so I believe in miracles of all shapes and sizes. He parted the Red Sea y'all- I just saw it on the Bible mini-series ... how hard could it be to let the lap top live a little longer?

If only we were in Little Rock then I would have taken all my kiddos to our normal Pediatrician and been in and out in record time. Diagnosis' given, prescriptions written, and Sonic-slushies-slurpen for all our sore throats ... but that's not the case. We are officially the sickies in the Boonies. Three of the five of us have confirmed cases of strep, and the other two of us strangely came out negative. But, I don't believe it for a minute.

If only we were in Little Rock Maw would have probably moved in for a couple days and had every bit of throw up laundry cleaned, every dish hand washed and put away and my floors looking like the top of the Chrysler building. Not to mention my Gardenia bush and buttercups would probably be blooming there so she would have freshly picked flowers perched in all the right places ensuring "get well soon" was happening any moment. She would be reading Peter Rabbit, snuggling, cooking, and loving us all like she does wayyyyyy too well to be 1300 miles away. But who's counting.

If only we were in Little Rock my Rachy would have been there to come get well kids to go to the park or spend the night with her or something fun and lovely and non-sickly.

If only we were at home Sarah Baker would have delivered Fresh Market yummies to our house with a vast array of dessert choices and a bouquet of hydrangeas (she is way too conscientious to have stayed in the Plague-ville with us with baby Noah in the car and baby girl Wellons in her belly, but she would have spread some love no doubt).

If only we were in Little Rock my mama would be there to know exactly what I needed before I could think of it myself. She would be bustling around the house in an apron and bathing littles in Epsom Salt baths, making beds, rearranging my bookshelves, and somehow making my house look much nicer than it is. Because that's what she does.

But, we're not.

I'm in a sick, foggy mindset where I really just want my people.

However, my PA people have been pretty great too. Meals delivered, sick needs thrown at the door in hopes of not touching the door and thus catching the said plague themselves. Emily called last night begging me to tell her something that would make me feel better, "What about a yummy decaf latte from ... er ... well ... McDonald's?"
We laughed and laughed as she stumbled around for a yummy coffee shop (even though Dunkin Donuts lattes really are growing on me) before realizing there really aren't any in our tiny town. Coffee actually surprisingly sounds pretty awful anyway, I only want my ice water ... Apparently thats all anyone else wants as well, as my cup has become quite communal, driving me to the edge of sanity several times. "I've fixed no less than fourteen gatorade cups today- drink your own people! Quit. Sharing. Germs."
It's just amazing we can't get well.

We're still alive though. Hanging by the edge, but alive. We could use some healthy prayers thought! Send them our way!!

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February 14th and the Days that Followed.

Thursday brought Valentine's Day and I was thrilled to have a reason to spoil my loveys with some happies (Thanks Memaw and Tom for the Target gift card!! They were thrilled with their goodies!)

Avery's class also had QUITE the party, I wasn't really prepared for all the ... excitement.

These two are just too much. Still plotting to kidnap Tanner.

Poor Alexander- Avery feels like she needs to be sitting 3 inches from him at all times. We're working on personal space manners.

Love these Bertsch people ... (**Mom, this is the darling Maryrose, her mama, Alysoun, and the most hilarious, talkative, precocious two year old, Peter. I heart them!)

Sweet friends, Avery and Desirae.

And thennnnn ... the BEST Valentine's Day present!! Maw arrived that night!!!! Wahoo!!

Love this pic!

Da' couldn't come, but sent these little monkeys to his monkeys that they carried around like

 Flat Stanley all weekend.

Maw and Da also had this fun Valentine's Day surprise delivered Friday ... Sawyer practically built it himself.

Friday we ran errands, ate lunch, and wore ourselves out in Elmira before returning home for dinner.

And Saturday we spent the day in Binghampton- the kids favorite stop was the Discovery Center.

Avery spent at least half her time in the Supermarket ... I can relate.

They were DYING to stay out in the story garden for a while, but it. was. 19. degrees. LHM.

Almost like Destin ... not.

My favorite stop was Sonic ... I think it's the only one in New York. The car was quiet for at least

ten minutes enjoying our delicious, fat-filled, fast food.

- I have no idea why Dalton's pants are off.

Then, Saturday night Aaron and I went to a Valentine's Dinner with several couple friends. The women are almost all in my bible study. I've loved living and learning with each of them ... and I'm excited to start our Ruth study at the end of the month.

Emily and Rosie.

Our darling hosts, Dave and Rosie Noordhoek.

Derek and Rachel Williamson.

Julie and Dan Walker.

Emily and Danny Knox. (I pig-snort-laugh at this second pic ... gah they make life fun)

Jason and Dawn Wanck ... first night out without baby Sadie!

My Valentine.

It was a fun night with lots of yummy food and wonderful fellowship. Thankful for these fine folk.

Sunday we went to church and came home for naps... Then I went a little crazy in the kitchen. I feel like I do just dandy and then with a little touch of home (in the form of my sweet mother-in-law)comes in to remind me what's so very far away in Arkansas and I get pretty homesick.

What's a girl to do but get busy in the kitchen? I may have made seven dozen cookies. Whoopsies.

I had plenty of help.

Everyone helped with a batch or two ...

Well, almost every one.

Cutest, bestest, helper!! 

(p.s. That's red sharpie on his neck)

Bursting with pride.

I went even further into a carb-fest stupor making quite a line-up of southern comfort food for dinner: Ham and Northern Beans, Cornbread, Turnip Greens, and Macaroni and Cheese. I think it made me feel better about being in the very far away, bitterly cold north.

Today we kept busy ignoring the clock telling us that Maw would be leaving soon.

Very busy, indeed.

More prideful moments seeing his new art on the wall.

Maw never leaves without helping with some fun projects.

It was a love-filled weekend for sure!!