Spring? What Spring?

We are well into April, but here in Oregon it feels like January.  We still wear our winter coats everywhere, and the rain...well the rain has not let up since about October.  Thankfully, that means everything is lush and green.  Flowers and trees are budding and blossoming.  Buuuut...it's SO...RAINY!  They say this is the longest winter on record here in the Portland area since 1941 or something like that.
So we've been mainly cooped up indoors for as long as we can remember. :)  Here is what we have been up to.
Claire has an internal clock.  Each evening at around 5 or 5:30, she stands on her stool in the front window and watches for Daddy to come home.  Sometimes she is there for a long time!

It would bring Dan and I much joy if the sayings on their shirts came true and they followed in their parents footsteps someday!

Claire's first pigtails. :)

Superman came to help me get salad ready one night.

Claire helps out, too.  I think this is her first time helping me cook in the kitchen!  That day's agenda was cookies.

Matthew enjoys writing words on paper many times a day.  This is one of his creations:

Claire was helping me unload groceries.  She is...umm...quite helpful.  But who can resist her??

Can you tell that Claire has an older brother? Here is Claire as Darth Vader.

Watch out, Mommy!

Oh, I guess Spring IS here!  In small forms...  These are a few branches from our cherry tree out front.

Claire, modeling her spring coat.  We like to hope.

Matthew and Claire love to do things together.  Claire especially loves to follow her big brother around the house.  And Matthew is very accommodating, helpful and gentle with her.

Matthew and I set up the Israelite's tabernacle (The rectangle in the back).  The yellow lego propped up inside is the curtain to the Holy of Holies.  The girl on the right is Miriam.  The guy Matthew is holding is Moses offering a sin offering and is saying, "I'm sorry for my sins."  I picked the green guy with the apron to be Aaron the priest.  (Do you like his linen ephod?) :)

Here, Matthew is acting out Moses and Aaron carrying the ark of the covenant.  (Was Moses really there?  Hmmm...)

Our newlywed friends Tim and Amber Fish came over one night and brought the game "Sorry".  It was a Special Star Wars Edition with R2-D2 in the middle, complete with sound effects.  Matthew thought that was very cool.

Claire, checking out this week's ads.

After Dan gets home from work, all the kids want to do is be with him.  I mean, who wouldn't??

This past Saturday night we had the privilege of seeing Chris Tomlin in concert, one of the leading lead-worshippers of our time.  It was truly an amazing time of worship!!

Singing with thousands of other worshippers.  Just a little taste of heaven!

Louie Giglio was also there.  He is such a dynamic and moving preacher.  He opened up to us the world of pulsars (did you know you can HEAR them?) and talked about many aspects of God's creation throughout the universe that were created to worship, just like us.  (Psalm 148:3-4)

Stay tuned for more blog entries that I hope to put up soon.  Next time it will be of us venturing out into the outdoors!