March Madness

We're not referring to March Madness in the usual sense, although Kirk is a huge fan of NCAA basketball. It's more in reference to the craziness that has ensued in our lives this past month and the crazy weather we are having as I type this blog entry. The snow is unstoppable and there is expected to be 8-12 inches of snow in some locations. Wow.

The newscaster on Fox the other night said it best: "When you see "first day of spring" marked on the calendar, there should be an asterisk next to it that says 'does not apply to North Dakota or Minnesota.'"

I've been very busy with speech practices and tournaments and our team is doing very well this year (thanks in large part to the motivated and experienced head coach Sarah) so it feels very rewarding to be a part of something I really enjoy!

Kirk has been involved in many church events recently and is gearing up for the 25th anniversary of our church this Sunday. He's also busy watching the basketball tournaments of course :)

Will is busy in preschool and is learning about monkeys right now. His favorite book at the moment is "What's So Hot About the Sun?", a book about the solar system. He asks tons of questions about the sky, planets and sun, most of which I unfortunately can't answer, finding myself unable to conjure up facts from Eighth Grade Earth Science.

Leah has recently begun to act like a baby again (even before the baby comes--yikes!), asking for a paci and for us to swaddle her in a blanket and sing to her. But she and her brother are also big helps around the house and Leah loves to put stickers on her "chore chart" every day. She continues to take care of her baby doll and asks me every morning, "you have a baby in your tummy?"

Yes, Leah, it's still there. I only have a month to go but I think that month will pass very slowly as we get more eager to meet the newest member of our family. We're still trying to think through baby names for both boys and girls, since we don't know the gender this time around. Baby seems healthy and is very active and strong which is all we can ask for.

We were so thankful to have our friends Andy & Monica and their kids come to visit us for a full week. They are missionaries on deputation to raise prayer and financial support before they go overseas. Our kids had so much fun together and the adults had some great times too :)

Here are a few pictures of the last few weeks:

Lately, Leah poses like this in pictures. Not sure why.

Will at a recent preschool program

Leah, girl of many hats

Her baby doll is "swaddled and ready for nap", to quote Leah.

Family Movie Night watching Mary Poppins

Our friends Andy & Monica and their older two kids who are almost exactly the same age as Will & Leah!



Please pray for a healthy and safe delivery for our little one (on time if possible!) and for our health as we seem to be struggling with staying well this winter and early spring.