Things In March

 Sarah caught this cute picture of our dog Belle with one ear up.  Belle has continued to grow.  Last time she was weighed at the vet she was 28.5 pounds.  She can sit, stay, shake, and give a high five.  She is a smart girl, runs very fast, and loves to play with Eric and the kids.

Our chickens have been busy laying eggs as the weather is warming up and the sunlight is lasting longer.  Our new hen, Kevin has started laying eggs too.  Her eggs started out little and in some funny shapes. Kevin is one of the chicks that we got last September.  She is a New Hampshire Red chicken

We celebrated Sarah's 16th birthday.  Lindsee came to town and spent the day with us.  We went to Sonic, Claires, Tips and Toes, and ate dinner at Olive Garden that night.

Phoebe's  spring choir concert was Monday, March 7th.  Her choir is sounding so good!  They have been practicing for Music Festival/contest that is later in March.

We ate Sarah's Dairy Queen ice cream birthday cake with friends after Phoebe's choir concert.

Happy 16th Birthday Sarah!

We were invited to Hannah's surprise birthday party, given by her husband and kids.  Happy Birthday Hannah!

Silas worked hard for about a month researching and writing a report about Council Grove, Kansas.  He then had a to create a diorama of old Council Grove, and memorize his Council Grove report.  The day before spring break started he and all of his classmates gave their towns in Kansas reports/speeches to other kids, teachers, and parents who attended the "Kansas Tour Day" at their school.

Dad took us out for a Birthday dinner for Sarah's 16th birthday at Walt's in Clearwater.

Two of our chicks that we got back in September turned out to be Roosters.  Comet and Dolly started to display Rooster qualities and needed to find a new home.  Over spring break our friend Carl let us bring these two Roos out to join his flock.  He already had several Roosters and a few hens, so what was two more, right?  We took them out and observed them in their new home, made sure they knew where the water, food, and coop were located.  Carl also has a big dog and some goats.  We hope Comet and Dolly are adjusting to their new home and new flock.

We visited Dad over Spring Break.  He and the kids and I took a little trip to Chase County.  We looked in an antique store there and visited the old Court House.  You can take self-guided tours.  We walked all over looking on all the floors, and talking with some of the workers there.  We went in the court room and checked out the old jail inside the Court House as well.  We were there for the changing of the flag on top of the Court House, so we quickly went outside to watch this happen.  While it was being changed some of us sang the Star-Spangled Banner.

Below, pictures inside the old jail portion of the Court House.

Dad decided he was going to leave his new Christmas Tree up year round for awhile.... We helped him decorate it for Easter.

One of our chickens laid a double yolk egg!

We were gifted Casting Crowns concert tickets from our friend, Carl.  This was an amazing concert!  Casting Crowns have so many great songs that I love.  At Christmas time their Christmas songs are also some of my favoirtes.

Of course they played one of their best songs.... Scars In Heaven.  I cried, and my heart broke a little more.

Thank you, Carl!  We had a great time.

I wanted to add some more hens to our flock so Eric helped me with a run expansion so that the hens would have a lot more room to walk around and scratch in the dirt.  He is such a good husband.  When I have ideas, he makes them happen. I am so very thankful for him, his work ethic, and how he takes care of and provides for our family.

The girls attended the SHINE Girls Conference with a few other girls from our church on March 18th.

Phoebe and Silas's choirs sang at the District Art Fair. After Phoebe's choir sang I looked around with her and we found one of Silas's art projects on display and several of her art projects on display.

Above, Silas's art project.  Below, Silas's choir.

Phoebe tried out for the High School's musical, "Annie".  She was given the part of a servant and a Hooverite. They had practices every day after school for about two months to get prepared for the two performances. The musical was March 24th and 25th.  Below, are several pictures from both nights of performances. The musical was done well.  It was funny and all performers seemed well prepared. Great job, Phoebe and friends!  It was so much fun to watch you in your first ever musical! WELL DONE! Thank you to all of our friends and family who came to support our girl as well.

Sarah was inducted into the National Honor Society on March 27th.  She is such a good student and leader.  She was nominated and selected by her teachers based on Scholarship, Service, Leadership, and Character.  There were 30 students selected out of approximately 1700 from her high school. BIG CONGRATULATIONS, Sarah! Keep shining!

Silas joined a group of boys from his school (3rd-5th graders) to run and complete service projects together.  The group is called DUDES.  They run together, learn how to make easy snacks, and perform community service each month together. They are preparing to run a 5K (3.1 miles) on May 6th.

Silas has especially enjoyed learning to make some snacks that he can now make at home easily.

The first service project the boys did together was to attend a WSU Men's Shockers basketball game, and when the game was over they cleaned up the trash left behind all over the arena.

I have gotten to spend a few days with Dad over the last month or so... We look up local estate sales and go check them out, and then we try out a different or favorite food place.  The last time we spent the day together we tried out a new food place called the Paris Baguette Bakery Cafe.  We got four different pastries and split them in half.  They were all DELICIOUS, especially the pastries with fresh fruit on top.

Sarah made the High School JV softball team again this year.  Her first softball game of the season was Friday, March 31st. It was a dusty, windy, dirty game.  Phoebe and Popee used a blanket as a shield each time the wind blew a huge gust of dirt straight at their faces.  Sarah played second base and left field. JV won both of their first games against Eisenhower.

Silas's hand is healing nicely.  He completed physical therapy with flying colors and can now do all activities with no restrictions. He will have a scar on his left hand and left middle finger.