Pardon the unscheduled break

It's been awhile, just a bit, since I last posted.  Maybe a month?  In that month the camera was in the shop for a shutter replacement and overall maintenance.  Just got the camera back and the computer hissed and gave it all up.  So a week wait for a new computer.   March was a busy month as you will see from the following pictures.  Lots of pictures.  It was so busy you will notice there are no finished projects from the sewing room or knitting needles.  But the finished projects in the way of grandmunchkin activities may provide some entertainment while you wait for knitting or sewing projects.  They are on the needles, they are almost done.  There was some sewing activity.  Two days worth.  And the project never made it out of the sewing room except via the garbage can.  It was a hard lesson but I learned.  I am not a quilter.  I'm done.  Or so she says now after a fiasco.  Someone ought to say something about now about getting back on the horse.  I fear it's been too long.  So without further ado, I give you grandmunchkins......

 St. Patrick's Day isn't just a day, it's a week long of activities and stories.  As is Dr. Seuss' birthday but there are no pictures this year.  We're not Irish (that I know of), but St. Patrick was a missionary so it's worth noting his day with an emphasis on what he did with his life.  But throw in the wearin' of the green and leprechauns and the fun stuff too.

 It was a good time to emphasize colors and have a glue craft too.  Colored noodles to glue and make a rainbow.

                                                          There were drawings.

 And spring sprung.  One of my favorite spring flowers bloomed out and sent a heady scent all through the yard.  The little bloom in the bush is growing and sprouting too.  Reading chapter books.  So much like her Mommy.  Give her the basics of reading and the love of books and poof, they're reading.  Her Mommy caught her reading while picking up toys.  Book in one hand and the other hand picking up toys, slowly.  The eyes and attention were on the book.  Yep, that's her Mommy all over again.

 I had an $8 coffee break.  I stopped in Joann's and picked up $8 worth of craft projects from their $1 bins.  The projects lasted long enough to give me a coffee break.  Hence the $8 coffee break.

Our son in law had a birthday.  And it was properly celebrated.  Dinner out, lots of handmade cards, lots of pictures.

 And someone was given a rib bone.  Just the bone with a hint of BBQ sauce remaining.  Although this picture doesn't show it, he had a bone in each hand and wondered why he was stuck with baby food when this flavor was available to others.

 I was RAK'd in the most spectacular fashion.  I didn't participate in the owl swap in the itty bitty group but Judi sent me a package.  Oh my, the goodies galore.  Craft projects for the kids, buttons, a hand knit owl that one decided was  hers, flannel for pjs, coloring pages, stickers, folders, goodies, just to name a few!

 The weather turned delightful so part of the school lesson plan became outdoor school.  Identifying trees, birds, bugs.  It started with the infamous child question, "Nonny, what is this?" and when I didn't know, Amazon to the rescue.  Guide books for kids. 

 Did you know a female robin has a grey head and a male is all black/brown?  I didn't either until our bird guide was read by this little one as we spotted a robin on our walk.

 Spring fever got to Graypa.  He took the day off to mow the lawn, wash the truck, and host a hot dog roast.

 Sometimes in all the excitement, things go a little awry.  She was ok, nary a scratch, but that cement is hard!

 One of the books in the RAK was "Owl Babies".  It's been read 4 times already.  A few of our grandmunchkins spent the night and delighted us with reading, and reading again, and reading again, the book

 Which brings us to today and egg coloring!  No time for coffee while they were creating today!  A few spills, a bit of sharing, some stickers, some markers, and we have spectacular eggs for the Easter bunny to hide.

 And after all the energy expended coloring eggs, there was still some left for a walk to the school and a picnic lunch and playing on the equipment.

Today is Good Friday.  On this Good Friday, the breakfast table conversation revolved around the fact that a perfect sacrifice was needed to save us from our sins. That God himself became a man and died on the cross for us. After that conversation the words from the song we sang last Sunday in church kept going through my head:


I am not skilled to understand what God has willed, what God has planned. I only know at H...is right hand stands one who would be my Savior. I take him at his word and deed, Christ died to save me. This I read and in my heart I find a need of Him to be my Savior. I am truly blessed and my prayers have been answered that all but the two youngest at that breakfast table found a need of Him to be their Savior and reached out and accepted it. They talked about it because they knew it for themselves.  Thank you for stopping by.  It was quite a long post.  But if you stayed to the end, I pray you have found the need for Him to be your Savior too.

Peter Cottontail came...and went!

Warning!  Picture intensive! 

Everyone went different directions for Easter so we grabbed a weekday, grabbed the family, and grabbed what part of the holiday we could as a family.  Enter 10 dozen eggs, 1 Large fruit salad, 4 family size pizzas, and 8 children, 6 adults, and you have an Easter egg coloring party!

Table decorations courtesy of two little girls excited to see dandelions and daisies make their appearance.

Gather round!

Intense color scrutinization...is it done?

Well, if the eggs were less than colorful, the hands made up for it!

The Saturday before Easter is the community Easter egg (really candy, not eggs) hunt at the fairgrounds.  I was, ahem, invited (actually offered to come along as a photographer) to enjoy some of the grandmunchkins enjoying the sunshine, the candy, the pony rides, the bounce houses, and the petting zoo.

I think she thought "If I don't look, he won't be there".  She didn't cry but she didn't look either.

Hunting candy.  And Mom and Dad helped.

Onto to meet and feed the critters. 

And then it was the older kids candy dash.  And considering the crowds and over anxious parents, I didn't get many shots of candy hunters.

And their were pony rides.  The faces say, "we can't wait!"

Sunday morning brought the new Easter finery and happy smiles.

And just in time for Easter, at 1:30 am Easter morning to be precise, I finished the Easter shrug!  I have a new favorite yarn:  Madelintosh!  Used to make this whirligig shrug.  A new favorite pattern too.  Simple enough to give a quick knit but enough details to hold interest. (details on my ravelry page)

So!  The chocolate and the morning fun is kicking in.  Photo op is Over!

The face says it all.  Easter is fun!  But lest you think pictures with the Easter bunny and egg hunts and Easter baskets and new dresses is what Easter is about.  Just ask these.  They'll tell you Easter means Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to cleanse us from sin and open up the way to spend eternity with God.  The bunny, the eggs, and the candy are just fun additions.

sit back, get some coffee, Easter Weekend photos~

They say a photo is worth 1000 words. Well then, this post must be a novel, or several novels. Think the Lord of the Rings series. The weekend started with the annual Guild Shop Hop. This was my fourth year and my daughter's second. I didn't take too many pictures. I was too busy shopping and making decisions. Suffice to say it was as enjoyable as always. But this was it for me. The yarn diet has begun. No new yarn until next year's shop hop. There are too many beautiful yarns in my stash begging for their turn on the needles and out of the totes/bags/boxes.

This was the first stop on the tour (after Starbucks) and it is the yarn store I usually frequent so it was like coming home but with a big discount!

Since it was Easter weekend, there were eggs to be colored for the Easter egg hunt. Ok, so I love to color eggs and use the grandmunchkins as an excuse.

There is a difference in the egg coloring of 3-4 year olds and 9-10 year olds. It's 55 minutes!

And then Easter Sunday was upon us. The verse Pastor started his message with rang in my head for the remainder of the day: There is now therefore No Condemnation! I am no longer condemned by my sin. Because He lives I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Such good news and the day would have been sufficient with that good news. My life would have been sufficient with that news. But I am thankful God has more in store for me.

Like beautiful grandmunchkins dressed up for Easter Sunday! Little Miss R does not care for Easter bonnets so she opted for a tiara she got from her recent trip to Disneyland.

Check out Mr. W. He had me laughing all day and again as I went back through the Easter pictures. He was in rare form. Actually, not so rare for him. He reminds me of another with his personality. And that can bring the tears. I miss him so much and I wish I had enjoyed that personality of his even more than I did.

The princess and her court jesters?

Another sweet princess ready for the Easter egg hunt at church.

My husband greets and hands out bulletins every Sunday morning. He involves the grandmunchkins as part of his greeting committee. They've learned to shake hands, say "good morning" and, when it's someone special, give hugs.

Our youngest grandmunchkin in her first Easter finery. She was a little tired and later started running a fever so she was more sober than usual.

And, of course, Easter means pictures for the scrapbooks. Little Miss R was about fed up with pictures as well as being tired and hungry. Note to self...pictures only before church, not after!

The family pictures......

Like I said: Note to self..pictures before church!

After church we went to my parents for Easter dinner. In their mid 70's and they still had 30 people for Easter dinner!

After filling their tummies with good food, it was time to hunt eggs, real and those filled with chocolate.

However! This egg hunt may be one for the books! My husband grabbed the eggs from the fridge to hunt. ALL the eggs. Can you see the drip coming from the bag? Some of those eggs were white...for a reason...they weren't hard boiled. The Easter bunnies that hid the eggs did question why some of the eggs were white but hid them anyway. Oooops! Ah well, we all laughed and this egg hunt will stand out from the others.

Even the big kids found amusement in the toys found hidden in the eggs. One of the memories I came away with after Easter, especially after Easter dinner at my parents, was how much the family loves the children. There were 9 little ones under the age of 10 and there were pats on the head, hugs, help with hunting and hiding eggs, serving them dinner, laughter, toys for them to play with.

If you stayed with this post to the very end, go have some chocolate, you've earned it!