Happy Lent

 Harper is helping Nana break up lettuce for dinner.  Anything going on in the kitchen she is usually a part of.  She loves the prep work, you occasionlly get to taste something, lick the bowls or even check out different consistancies with your hands, she loves it all.  She has learned that if she's pretty careful I let her help, if it gets too messy Nana is done.

 We have visitors quite often on the pond, these ducks show up most days for awhile.  As I glanced out the dining room window this morning a large turkey was very sneakily strutting across the back yard.  Brandyn asked if he was strutting, it's mating season I guess, he looked pretty cocky to me.

 I had the priviledge to take care of the KC boys while their mommy and daddy got away the beginning of April.  Chelsea, Harper and Lake drove down also at the beginning of my time with them to help me get to everywhere I needed to be at the right time.  Having 3 involved in sports is a lot for a Nana then you also  throw into it "road construction".  The first morning my alarmon my phone didn't go off so I had a phone call at 6:30, yes 6:30 A.M. asking if Payton was ready.  His coach was on the driveway waiting overlooking a very dark house.  I ran to the door and told him we needed 10 minutes, he said he would gladly wait.  I don't think he had much of a choice.  I wasn't able to bring him, not a clue where it was except in north KC, and I think they needed Payton, (Nana's star) pretty bad.  This was on Saturday, day 1.  Then on Monday night I follow Chelsea 's van to Cadynce's soccer game, she had the directions.  Eventually we were on the phone with eachother, talking with rolled down windows as we were turning around deciding which way to go next, her throwing the directions in my car and me throwing them back into hers... To make a long story short we never found it due to an error possibly in the given directions.  Eveytime Beckym and Nana went anywhere the rest of the week he was certain Nana was going the wrong way.  We had a fun week filled with favorite meals, homework time, smoothies, loud snoring dogs, shopping with Beckym, icecream treats, trampoline time with Nana jumping and everyone else laughing .  After bedtime Payton and I were able to split up the movie, "The Passion" over 3 nights, that was an awesome highlight for me as a grandparent to share that time with my 12 year old grandson. He couldn't understand WHY they were so mean to Jesus, how they could just keep it up and keep it up.  Knowing and sharing with him that Jesus could had stopped them but didn't because he was enduring all that pain for all of our sins and that Jesus knew he had to follow through with God's plan was a lot for him to take in.  It's a lot for this Nana to take in.  The amount of love God has for us is unmeasurably large.  Jesus was furious with death.  He was filled with anger as he walked to the place of the dead. 
I shared with Payton that I wanted to read through John during this Lent season, I have it on my ipod too but enjoy the reading as I get older. I encouraged him to do the same.
Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness, This is REAL!
As a dear friend said "goodbye" to her father, he went to Heaven this weekend I ponder this verse, Proverbs 12:28
"In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immorality."
In the helps it states that for many death is a darkened door at the end of life, a passageway to an unknown and feared destiny.  But for God's people it is a bright pathway to a new and better life.  So why do we fear death?  It is because of the pain we expect, the separation from loved ones, its surprise?  God can help us deal with those fears.  He has shown us that death is not final, but is just another step to eternal life we received when we followed him.
Connie's dad knew where he was going and was ready and that means SO MUCH to loved ones left. It's always hard to let go but when you know this, it is much much easier.

Does this not look like a house full of trouble?  This was only 2 of them. Harper and Beckym were really big buddies.  They had a lot of time together and decided they would get along.  It was pretty cute to hear them chatting back and forth trying to keep eachother happy while working out difficult situations thy had come up against with eachother.

 Here are some pictures of Beckym's first year of soccer, intro of course.  He has watched his brothers do the sports thing a lot so he LOVES to go to "his own games".

 They had some siblings helping them learn what to do and which way to run and kick the ball.

 Quite the goaly.

 Cinnamon Roll day, Barclay getting some time in with Grandpa/ma De Vries

 There's nothing like mommy.

 Grandpa is a natural at holding sleeping babies.  When Christina was little he was so concerned that she was always sleeping never crying, now he's use to it.

 On Sunday we got a call from Brandyn that he was going after some worms, soon Chelsea called and when Lake heard, they were on their way out too.  My patience wassoon done when suddenly I heard a commotion on the other side of the pond.  They caught the first 2 fish, Lake isn't missing much of the details as you can tell.

 This year we will catch and throw, is that what you call it?   I just hope we don't hurt too many fish in the process like we did today.  It actually reached 90 degrees and very very windy, we soaked some a few rays as well.  We went on ranger rides, rode toys on the driveway and enjoyed the day back home again.

A blessing I would like to give to all who reads this blog, "This is what the sovereign Lord says to these bones; I will make breath enter you and you will come to life." Ekekial 37:5  My hope and prayer is that God will pour out his spirit into each and everyone one of you! :)
 Happy Lent, I hope you can set aside doing something for Lent as you all go about your daily lives.