A Special Friend

Our friend, Janay, moved away from Ripon last fall. Our kids were so sad so when she came back for a visit this week they were elated. They were even more excited when she came over for a special visit.

Hallelujah, What a Savior!

I love the Lenten, Good Friday, Easter season - and this year was no exception! After a wonderful, glorious celebration yesterday, I'm humbled and grateful for the sacrifice of Christ.

The kids:The family (on a gorgeous 80 degree day!):
Dad & kiddos:
Mom & kiddos:Best buds:

Bowled Over

As usual, I was "bowled over" by Anika's creativity:-) Sometimes she gets an idea in her head and spends hours planning and perfecting it. Other times she mopes dramatically around the house, sighing and moaning that "there is nothing to do". (I perfer the former!) This day she decided that she would make a bowling alley. (It worked pretty well too - except that there was a lot of time spent resetting the pins.)

Getting Around

We're finally getting out of the house again! Today we went to the park and had a nice time in the sun -- even though we've been getting some windy weather. Andrew has a new favorite ride. He is LOVING his tag-along bike. It is so slick to just have him hop on behind me and go. I see some family bike rides in our future. . .

The family at the park (Mom, Scout, Anika, Kathryn, & Drew):
Andrew's new ride:The bike riders:The walkers (Dad isn't pictured since he was taking the pictures!):

Fun on the Farm

We've been so blessed by the support of our church family during our odyssey of illness. Our friends, The Vissers, invited Anika & Andrew to spend the morning with them today -- to give Mom & Dad a break and let the kiddos breath some fresh air and see the sunlight:-) The Vissers have an almond orchard so the kids were so excited to spend the day on the "farm". Matt sent this picture of their morning.

Taking a walk through the trees: (Julia, 5; Anika, 5; Ruthie, 4; Andrew, 3; Garrett, 1.5)

My Kids

"Incredible" Imagination

When Anika asked me to help her dress up as Violet from "The Incredibles", I was stumped. I told her that she would just have to do her best. Well, here is what she came up with:-) I had to laugh when she spent like 20 min. in the bathroom trying to get her bangs to part and cover her eye like Violet. All she succeed in doing is making the ink from her mask run down her face. Such memories!!! (She taped the mask to her face.)

Virtuoso

Anika is truly taken with the piano right now. She patiently practices "Mary Had A Little Lamb" over and over again. (It is the only song I know off hand that only uses the first five notes of the scale). She is anxious to start lessons. She also thought it was great to introduce Kathryn to the delight of pounding out sounds.

Breakfast in the Living Room

I had to catch this moment of Andrew & Anika sharing breakfast in the living room. This is not a normal occurance, but in the spirit of the week - lounging, sleeping, resting, recovering - I decided to let them start their day this way:-)

This was also the day that Lloyd's first words to me when he awakened were "good afternoon" (and he was only exaggerating slightly). He has been trying to rest like a good boy so his pneumonia will improve. So far, he is doing well.

Cabin(et) Fever

We are all experiencing some cabin fever around here. Lloyd came down with pneumonia last week and we've all been battling one aliment or another so we've see more of the inside of the house than we would like on these beautiful spring days. Kathryn continues to grow and develop new skills. She now pulls herself up by the kitchen cabinets and bangs them. . . over and over. Yeah, for new milestones:-)

If Life Gives You Lemons. . .

Since I knew our sick family needed the vitamin C, I couldn't resist when Anika asked if we could make lemonade today. How amazing to walk out our back door, pick 6 lemons, and make lemonade. I know that Anika already has visions of a lemonade stand for this summer.

Anika showing off her skill with the juicer!Andrew can't be outdone by his sister!A play by play: "Mom, can I y-ick it?"

Spring Weather

Until this weekend we had been enjoying some beautiful, upper 70 degree weather. Here are a few shots from our time outside!

Kathryn's nose betrays the trials of the Wickers in trying to overcome these colds. Lloyd is still pretty much down 'n out but still trying to plug away. Anika & I are struggling with sore throats and coughs. Drew is pretty much recovered.

Whew! What hard work. Anika will still choose to ride her trike over her bike occasionally.
PURE CHEESE!!!!

Comforting Tea

We've been feeling a bit achy and stuffy around here so I made the kids some tea to start the day. They enjoyed drinking it in their "Guess How Much I Love You" mugs from Nene at the table from Grandma. I've think I've created monsters though because they want it every morning now. I think Andrew and Kathryn are on the mend, but Anika & Lloyd are in the midst of it. I hope the worst of it passes soon - Anika is feeling quite crabby!

Mom's Club Cookie bake

Our church just started a Mom's Club. We get together once a month to do something fun. This past Sat. we had a "Monster Cookie Bake". It was so much fun. The kids got to mix everything with their hands and choose what candies/chips/sprinkles went into their dough. There was even nursery provided for Kathryn. What a good time! (There was some talk of sharing the bounty with the church the following day during the social hour. Upon further reflection, we decided to only expose our own families to the possible contaminates in the cookies:-))