Visit from Cousin Alise

My neice, Alise, who lives in Louisiana, came to visit us while she was on Spring Break. It was a full week and quite tiring, but she and Maia had a very fun time together and we're glad we got to spend so much quality time with her.


On her last day here, I took them to the duck pond and Alise kept trying to touch all the ducks. Eventually, one hissed at her and I think it scared her away. :)






Alise Lewis, 9 years old

We took the girls to this place here called The Jumping Party and they had a BLAST!

And another stumble...

You may recall that a few weeks ago Maia had a little stumble and scratched herself up in a few places. Well, here we go again. At preschool this week she took another spill and this one was a little worse even. I picked her up and this is what she looked like. Thankfully, her teeth remained intact and the swelling on her lip has already gone down. She still has the scrapes on her face, but in time those will disappear as well. What can I say? She runs like a girl.

Easter 2009

"There in the ground His body lay, light of the world by darkness slain; then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again! And as He stands in victory, sin's curse has lost its grip on me; For I am His and He is mine—Bought with the precious blood of Christ."

What a blessing and privilege it is to serve our risen Savior! That is our reason for being and our reason to celebrate Easter. Yes, we did egg hunts and dressed the girls in pretty dresses, but our real focus was on Jesus Christ, who took on our sin and shame, but conquered death and rose from grave! What a truly mighty God we serve!




Sweet little Josephine Rose




The girls with their Shanny, who cooked lunch for us on Easter Sunday

Preschool Easter Party

Maia's Preschool class went to opportunity park for their Easter celebration. There was an egg hunt, pinata, and of course snack. I think I had to pretty much drag her away from the park!


Swinging with her friend Darby






Maia takes a few swings at the pinata. She swings a bat like a true girl by the way, of course that was the first time she'd ever done that. But it was quite hilarious.

Sister Josie had to get in on the fun too


Maia really enjoyed getting to crack a confetti egg on her daddy's head

Sunny Arizona

The girls and I went to Cottonwood, Arizona to visit their Papa and Gramma over Spring Break. We had a terrific time and the weather and scenery were beautiful. (I'll be posting more scenery pics on my blog in the next few days) It was so great getting to spend the time there and we saw some of God's creativity at it's finest.
We started the week off with a little hike (about 2.5 miles) in Sedona. This was my first time hiking with children and I'll just say there were moment's that were shear terror! But overall, they did very well. If they are the daughters of Robert Reed, they better get used to it anyway! :) It helped that my dad carried Josie in a backpack and that Maia had a 'leash' on.
They are 2 hours behind us in their time zone, and that was probably the hardest thing for the girls to adjust to...in fact they never really did. But we survived.
Gramma Carol was so hospitable and even had a little Easter egg hunt and birthday party for Maia, since they won't be in Midland when those special days get here.
We miss you both already and can't wait to see you again!!!


Papa haulin' 20lb Josie up the mountain. Not bad for a 54 year old.

Josie must have enjoyed the bumpy ride down the trail because she fell asleep

Fun playing at the park



Me and Maia in Sedona

We got to help Papa celebrate a belated birthday.


Maia's version of "jail" for the little dolls she played with all week


The girls and I at Montezuma's Castle