The Kolariks: April 2015

This month I want to celebrate Weekends!

Have I mentioned before how this family lives for the weekend? And we had some pretty great ones this month!

We had a lot of fun celebrating Easter the first weekend of April.

I had to catch this little rabbit with my bare hands after one of the cats chased it in to the house one night...
It made a fun pet for the weekend - nice to have our own Easter Bunny!

About a week before the holiday, it occurred to me that Bruce is "old enough" now, but I hadn't really thought through how to explain to him why our family celebrates Easter. And it really kind of intimidated me! How do you even begin to explain something like death and resurrection to such a little heart? I decided to start by just reading him the Easter story out of some children's Bibles. I didn't want to skip around Truth, but I didn't want it to seem scary either, so every time I read the story, I started with the Last Supper and read all the way though until Mary found Jesus in the garden after the resurrection - with no cliff hangers. That seemed to work pretty well for us. I honestly had no idea how Bruce would receive it all, but was so surprised at how meaningful it was for both of us. Bruce was obsessed almost with the story, and wanted me to read it to him any chance we had, several times a day. It really stirred my heart - to see him latch on to the crucifixion with fresh eyes. It was like I could hear him thinking - wait, WHAT? This is JESUS you're talking about? I thought you said Jesus was GOD - and he DIED??? And I was ashamed almost at how dismissive my heart can feel sometimes about the magnitude of the Cross. During his nap/rest times that week Bruce would ask me to bookmark the Easter story in the different Bibles we have, and he would sit there for the entire hour just looking at the pictures. What I would give to know what was swirling around in that mind of his!

Aside from the crucifixion, the other part of the story that really intrigued Bruce was when Jesus washed his disciples' feet at the Passover meal. Up until now, we hadn't really brought up the topic of "sin" with Bruce, but this symbolic action was the perfect way to naturally and tangibly explain sin and the reason behind the Cross. The Thursday night before Easter, after Abby was tucked away in bed for the night, and Bruce was snuggling up for his bedtime stories outside on the patio couch, I set out some bread, a glass of "wine," and a big bowl of water with a towel. As soon as Bruce saw the bowl he immediately asked if we were going to wash each others' feet - I don't know who was more excited! We read the story like we had been, but when we got to the part where Jesus washed his disciples' feet, Bruce and I washed each other's feet too. First, I let him squish his feet around in some mud and we talked about how just like he can't come inside our house when his feet are all muddy, we can't come into God's house in heaven when our hearts are dirty. And then when we were washing all the mud off, we talked about how when Jesus died on the cross, a miracle happened, and it allowed him to be able to take all of the dirt and sin out of our hearts. Bruce loved this so much, that he insisted on doing "a Passover" again the next night when Charlie got home from his work trip. I have no idea what Truth he grabbed hold of through it all, but I do know that we have had some amazing conversations that have both challenged and encouraged me, and we're laying foundations.

even the pirates needed to have "a Passover" at our house...

and after Easter, Jesus' tomb quickly became Pirate Island...

Charlie got back from Minnesota just in time for the weekend, and he didn't waste any time getting straight to work on building a sandbox for Bruce and Abby. We've been wanting to put one in the backyard for awhile now, and with our tax refund, beautiful weather, and Handyman Daddy - dreams come true!

we had a dump truck come and drop a load for us

it was a lot of sand...

We hunted for eggs and had Charlie's mom and some friends over for an Easter dinner on Sunday, which was a great way to finish out the weekend. I love hosting events, but don't have the opportunity to do so very often. It's nice to be fancy every now and then, you know? And the wisteria and lilac were in full bloom in the backyard, which when clipped and added to our table spread, made me feel like Martha Stewart herself would have been jealous.

Bruce had a treasure map this year to help him find all of his hidden eggs

which of course were filled with Playmobil pirates from an eBay jackpot

The following weekend, my mom and Rick came up for another visit. Now that grandchildren are in the picture, we see them much more often - ha! With two Littles, the seven hour drive to Texas seems a little daunting still for me, so it's nice that they're willing to come our direction more than their fair share of the time. We didn't have any major events on the schedule while they were here, but we still enjoyed our time together. Charlie must have had a project "itch" this month because he constructed an awesome shade pergola for our patio over the weekend, too!

For the past few years, on whichever weekend in April falls closest to Charlie's grandfather's birthday, the Kolariks have been gathering at the wheat farm in Kansas for a little family reunion. Charlie's brother Willie flew in on Thursday, and then we drove up together Friday afternoon.

Uncle Willie helping with the sand castle, trying to figure a way for the moat to hold water

The weather was a bit rainy, but that just meant all the menfolk actually had to quit working for awhile and sit down and visit with everyone - so no complaints!

okay, so some chores still had to be done...

but they didn't seem to mind!

"Look, I found a bucket to swab the decks with!"

Checking on the cow herd that's been moved to Kansas

We had a bonfire and a hot dog roast for lunch on Saturday by the creek, and then a picnic dinner out at the old farm house where Charlie's dad was raised.

Grandpa Bill helping Bruce wade across to the "island"

Watching Cooper's boat float down the creek

Retrieving the boat, which Cooper was generous enough to let Bruce keep

Abby loves Katy dog (and Grandpa)

The "highlight" of that evening was the questionable tornado looming in the distance... Of course no one had cell phone reception out there, but we were with ol' farmhands and had a big cellar nearby, so we felt reasonably safe... We had some hail and rain, and spent a little time in the basement, but nothing major ever really came our way thankfully.

Is it? We'll never know...

But we'll stand around and watch it, of course...

Bruce still likes to keep to himself mostly, but I think he's starting to get to know the other cousins a little more, and Abby was just beside herself that there was a baby there.

trying to get a "cousins" picture - too bad we forgot before a few had to head home!

It was our first "vacation" since having kids that actually felt a little like a vacation. I think Bruce and Abby are finally getting old enough that things can relax a little, schedules can be a little more flexible, supervision can be a little more distant, and Charlie and I can actually hold a conversation with another adult for more than ten seconds...

in the canola field

The last weekend of the month was spent doing things that make me feel like maybe this place really is our "home." It's funny that it's taken nearly eleven years to feel that way! We went to the farmer's market to buy our garden seedlings, swung by the park on our way home for a birthday party with friends that are really starting to seem like family, spent the afternoon playing with our neighbors in their driveway - and going to bed that night there was a level of contentment I haven't felt in a long time. It's a good feeling.

looking for ladybugs in the lettuce

Other Kidbits from the Month:

Bruce has discovered roly-polies this month! He's learned several tricks to finding them, and collects them in any container he can find. He's made them part of his pirate crew, and lets them crawl around on his pirate ships - which mostly means they "go below deck" and eventually find themselves crawling all over our house. It's a good thing we don't mind bugs...

We also had a "pet" Tiger Swallow for a day

He also has been really interested in the magic of magnets, so we've been trying to think of some ways for him to explore them more. So far, we have a big board with some various magnets and metal things to play with, but I'm working on making him a fishing set, too. I keep a stack of those plain black button magnets in my purse now and they've become a life saver for killing time in public places - "Here, Bruce. Go find something metal." And he loves it.

But the biggest "Bruce-ism" this month is that the kid counts everything these days. I mean, he's been able to count things for awhile now, but for some reason this month, he just feels the need to always be counting everything.

I can't get enough of the wisteria that grows across our chicken coop!

Abby is trying so hard to talk! It's precious, and frustrating! She has a few words that are without a doubt "real" words. Most of them are food related: more, cheese, bowl. Her first word, no surprise, was "baby" and I think she even is saying "please" now - how great is that? She also has the sweetest "hi" and "bye" you've ever heard. All the time we find ourselves asking, "Did she just say ______ ? I really think she did!" She also has some really cute sign language ditties that she invented and uses on a regular basis, including a one finger wave to cue us to sing "Old MacDonald had a Farm" - her new favorite song.

We really are trying to wean her from the nuk, but are failing pretty miserably with it! I think the never-ending teething fussiness is definitely NOT helping! Now, there is some debate on the interwebs, but did you know that it's possible for baby teeth to erupt, and then go back into the gums before really cutting through, over and over again? I wouldn't have believed this myself, except I'm currently witnessing this phenomenon with Abby's canines... One day I can feel the sharp little stinkers, and then they're gone the next day! What? I am so ready to be done with baby teeth...

Abby's newest way to play is to experiment with Newton's Laws of Motion. She loves pushing something around, and then giving it a great big shove to see how far it will still roll after she lets go, she is very enthusiastic about throwing things and swiping things off tables with incredible velocity, and one of her favorite things to do is attempt to hop around. As much as I don't care for the projectile object experiments, I absolutely adore the hopping... and I adore this girl!