Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Easter - Part 2

I enjoyed Easter this year more than I have in a long time, and I'm sure its because this is the first year Hannah has really been able to dialogue at all about the real meaning of the holiday and we really had fun.

I (Jen) decided to try something I heard about a long time ago (my mom may have even done this with us as kids, but I can't remember....sorry, Mom LOL) and I've been waiting for Hannah to be old enough for us to do it with her. Its called "Empty Tomb Cookies". You make meringue cookies and each ingredient represents a part of the Easter story and you read Scriptures that correspond to each element. Hannah loved standing on the big chair and helping me crush the pecans, pour in the vinegar and egg whites, sampling the sugar, etc. She wasn't too keen on the mixer, but she was happy to help me hold it. After you blend them up, you put it in spoonfuls onto wax paper and put them in a hot oven and let them sit over night (you turn the oven off first). The kids put tape over the edge of the oven to "seal" the tomb and in the morning you break the seal and open a cookie and they're hollow inside b/c Jesus is alive!!! Well...that's how it works in theory anyway!! Our cookies never really meringued....but I think the recipe had me do stuff in the wrong order. But we had fun anyway and Hannah ran in to church that morning and yelled to Daddy, "Jesus is alive!!"


We went to some friend's house for lunch after church and that was a really refreshing time for all of us, despite the fact that b/t our two families there were 6 girls under the age of 7!! But these are some of our closest friends and we'd not really spent time with them in awhile, and I think it was a great time together that we all needed!


So, without further adue (or adoo, or however you spell it), onto the pictures!!! (some of my favorite pics ever of teh girls are in these!!)
Getting ready to beat the pecans - representing that Jesus was beaten

Having fun together!


Trying to figure out what's next


Easter Angel

Lovey dovey


Seth took this pic and I just LOVE it!


Sweetest kisses



More sugar!


Hello, Dolly!

Posing for the camera!

Sweet sisters


So shy and demure!


Such a big girl!


Getting ready for lunch




More eggs which means - more candy!!!

A new book from Grammy and Grandpa!


What is it, what is it, what is it????


The CARE BEARS!!!!!!!




Saturday, March 22, 2008

Easter Egg Hunt and WAY Too Many Pictures!!

So, this morning was the annual Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by our church. We didn't go last year because I was in the hospital having pointless contractions only to be sent home...but that's a different story for a different day...

It was a nice sunny day, a bit breezy, but we had fun....sorry there's so many pictures, but they all came out so great (if I say so myself hehehe) I couldn't leave too many out. They got a bit out of order in the upload, sorry!
Hannah was SOOO excited!!

The eggs that they "hunted"...


After all was said and done, Hannah lined up her egss and put them to sleep...


"Heellloooo"

"Just a LITTLE too much grass.....there, that's better!"



The sweet sisters patronizing their mother with a picture...


Now down to the good stuff!!!




With our friend Amanda, waiting for the fun to begin!

Hannah receiving instructions on the hunt


"I'm ready to go!!"



She's on a mission!!

On the prowl...


Filling up the basket


Cailyn gets in on the action...


She loves those pink eggs!




What a sweet face!


Another sweet face!!








Checking out her loot!


"Hmmm, I wonder what's in this one?"





"I got a LOT!"

"MMMMM, can't wait to get my hands on the candy!"


The best part of Easter Egg Hunts for parents - the CANDY!!


Dreaming of all the fun we'll have doing this again next year!


Boy, this Easter thing was great! Mom and Dad said tomorrow will be even better!!







Thursday, March 20, 2008

Coolest Uncle Ever Part 2 and a couple of Random Pics

I still haven't figured out had to add Thom's music directly to the page here, so I videoed the girls dancing to one of his songs (something we've been doing daily) and posted it here, so you can hear a sample of this awesome album in the video.
I've also included a couple of pics of the girls. Cailyn's new thing - besides perfecting walking on her own (she'll take up to 4 or 5 steps now! - but only TO Mommy....) is if you say "I love you" she'll reply by blowing a kiss!! She did it on her own and its the cutest thing!
Hannah's latest is pretending....she's contantly pretending she's something else. Lately its been a kitty. Sometimes she'll act like one, but mostly that just means she wants to be referred to as "kitty" rather than "Hannah" for the time being. And occassionally a meow will escape her lips and really random times. But, she's also been known to be a puppy, Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, a princess....
Hannah "being sick"...she's sitting with her legs inside the pillow case "because that's what you do when you're sick, Mom."

Cailyn's spahetti face - she'd scrunch it up like that every time I'd raise the camera. LOL


Saturday, March 15, 2008

Coolest Uncle Ever!!

So my brother is an amazing musician, and is always composing and arranging and doing all kinds of things with music I couldn't even fathom doing. For Hannah's 2nd birthday, he wrote her a lullaby, which she's listened to all night every night since then.

For her 3rd birthday, he wrote her her own entire album!! If you picutre the old Disney Light Parade Music, its sort of that sound (or if you've heard the band Joy Electric), but not all tinny sounding or annoying. LOL I don't know how to post music on here, or I'd give you a sample. But, we all love the album and have been listening to it a lot.

Don't my girls have the coolest Uncle ever??

Hannah playing piano listening to Uncle Thom's music
(which reminds me of something Thom would've totally done at her age lol)

Friday, March 14, 2008

No News is Good News

Well, I deeply appologize for the long silence. I usually make fun of my blog-friends for going so long w/out an update. However, things have been insanely busy for the Deibel Crew lately. We've all dealt with at least one kind of sickness or another; showing the house; Seth and I were out of town for a week; Granny and Papa came and stayed with the girls that week; Grammy and Grandpa gave us a surprise visit (and we somehow managed to not get any pictures that day :o( ).
However, things have been going well. We had a dedication service during church a couple of weeks ago. For those of you not familiar, a baby dedication is where we stand before our church family and vow before God to raise our children in a Godly way, teaching them His ways, His love, and His Word. The church also vows to support us as we raise our children this way in prayer, encouragement and accountability. God promises us that if you train a child in the way he should go that he won't part from that way when he is older. We truly believe this, and believe that God wants us to raise our children and teach them to love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Lord help us! We're so weak!!). We had a similar little ceremony when Hannah was very young (about 3 months old). Both girls were presented with a small New Testament Bible and a certificate. So, that was neat. And it worked out perfectly b/c the Sunday we did this just happened to be the Sunday Granny and Papa were in town, so they were able to be there for it. Wasn't planned that way...just a happy surprise!
Cailyn has also taken her first steps! She's sort of gotten a bit hesitent at it, and would rather hold onto something or push something, but she has taken 1-2 steps on her own at a time a few times.
Hannah continues to do wonderfully. She's over her croup and ear infection - thank God! She continues to amaze us everyday with what she's learning and remembering. Now that she's 3, she gets to go to preschool choir class every Wednesday and she LOVES it. She adores her teacher, Miss Alice, and asks everyday if its "choir class" day. She can tell us her address, her Mommy and Daddy's names, her full name, she can write her first name when told what letters to write. When asked how to spell her name she says, "H-a-h-a-h-a-h-n-n-n-n-a-h-h-a-h". :o)
Hannah's other major milestone is potty training!! She's been fully "day-trained" for a long time now, but we've recently started working on nap and bedtime. And tonight, she donned her last diaper!! She's been talking all week about how she only has "5 diapers left"....even when it was down to 1, it was still "5". Ah, preschool math. :O) But she's very proud of herself and is sure to tell everyone she knows all about it - even those she meets out and about.
Well, here's a few pictures of our adventures. There will be a precious video of Hannah coming soon. Its just too late to put it on tonight, as it always takes ages to load. :o)
Hannah kicking back watching a show

Hannah with her friends: "kitty" and "Little Girl Pooh"


Cailyn's Dedication

Proud girl standing!!

Watching the rain - she stood there for 10 minutes!!


"Reading" with Granny