Our life….over a year since the last post!

It has been a while since I sat down to post a little of our life.  Here are a few of our growing kids and what they like to do.  Trying to get back into doing this, as I like to look back over our blog and see the kids growing and changing.  Thanks for being interested in our family, we are doing well in Rwanda!

 Lily LOVES to color and is very particular about just how she wants things to look.  She has a very deliberate plan with every picture she works on and she takes her time.

 Pete also likes to color, especially since he was given a Spiderman coloring book.  These pictures all go up on his wall in his room.

 One of our best finds is this rhino beetle…he was crawling across our floor one morning and the kids were thrilled to pieces!

 We love our friend from LCU, Nikki, who came to spend Easter with us.  Dying eggs is always fun, even if they are brownish looking.  We only get brown eggs here.  :)

 Pete and I are homeschooling this year and we have a lot of fun.  He is learning so much and it has been a joy to be with him on this journey.

 Jude is a reader.  He will sit and "read" books for many minutes…along with his sister Lily.  I am so thankful they love to entertain themselves with books.

Pete turned 5 yrs. old in February.  He wanted his first Dr. Pepper for his birthday and we were able to get our hands on one.  He was so happy and kept talking about how it was burning his throat as he drank it.  I think he wondered why his Dad likes them so much.

Spring Fun and Personality

We have had a fun spring and chasing these little ones around has taken a toll on my picture taking.  But here are few fun ones from the past few months.  Unfortunately I have not taken any really good pictures of our many visitors these past months, but we have been blessed with quite a few.   Pete, Jude and Lily are growing quickly, learning so much and blossoming such different and fun personalities.  

Easter was a beautiful day and all the kids used their new, hand-painted Easter baskets from my Mom.  They loved the day!

Pete got some play-doh like goo and he thinks it makes the best mustaches.  He is always coming up with some new one, walks in giggling and pretends to be someone different.

Lily still loves lipstick and found a visitor's stash.  She figured Donna wouldn't mind if she dug into her tubes of lipstick! 

Lily always has lots to say and silly faces for the camera.

Jude finally got his first hair cut, just 2 months before he turns two years old!  He looks so old and grown up.

Pete helped Mama make homemade donuts.  The sprinkles were his favorite part, I think. :)

Lily is a little cleaner and helper.  She loves to help out whenever she can and even when it is not needed.  I love having a little shadow with me all the time.  And not to mention, I have much cleaner cabinets.

All the kids LOVE to eat Rwandan food with Claire and Gilbert every day.  It is their 2nd lunch most days and everyone loves the tradition.

October to December -- What Happened?!

It has been a fun last 5 months, that we have not posted on this blog.  The kids have obviously grown so much and are doing a ton more.  We enjoyed a wonderfully warm holiday season in the 70's and we are thankful for a new year.  Here is a splattering of our kids the past few months and what we have been up to -- around the home!

Pete has recently gotten even sillier.  He is coming up with goofy faces and wanting everyone to look at him.  This was his latest attempt to make Mommy laugh....and it worked.  :)

Lily got some of the cutest little Santa bloomers and she sported them on Christmas Day.  I just loved this front picture more than from behind.

Here is her new hairbrush and I don't think Lily could have been any more pleased with her surprise!

Pete got a new homemade bow and arrows for Christmas - and a quiver to hold them all.  He was excited.

Pete wrote to Santa and asked for a measuring tape this year.  Needless to say, he was pleased with it and it even was a perfect match with Daddy's measuring tape.

Santa also brought Pete a shaving kit just for kids.  He asks to shave at least 4 times a day - it is too cute.

Quite a crew on Christmas morning...so much fun.

Guess who found Mommy's lipgloss basket and went to town.  She obviously had the time of her life!

Jude looks about as angelic as they come in this picture -- especially in contrast to the picture above of his silly sister.

Just a day of exploring outside.  I think she looks so big in this picture.

It is hard to tell if this picture is Pete or Jude!  They look so much alike.

More silly faces from Pete.

Pete was pretty thrilled with his first ice cream cone last month.  A visitor brought us some ice cream cones and I made his favorite chocolate ice cream!

Cannot say enough about how much Pete loves hanging out and working with his Daddy. 

We only got a few little "matching" twins outfits, so we just had to pose in these.

Bath time is tight and so, so much fun when we are water rationing.  I am never sure whose feet or bum I am washing when they are all stuffed in this little tub, but they usually come out cleaner than when they started!

Our traditional, from-scratch, gingerbread house making.  Pete wanted to leave the back roof off, so that he could play with his people inside.

Making cookies at Christmas is more fun every year!

Pete is really enjoying painting these days and our friend brought us this great new paint pan.  Love it!

Happy One Year Birthday Jude and Lily!

We celebrated the twins birthday back in June, but we were just swimming with visitors and summer ministries, so we are just now getting this posted.  It has been a fun year and they are growing so quickly in such unique ways.  Lily is walking and climbing on everything, always wanting to be right at my feet.  Jude is a very content little man, happy to be just about anywhere, as long as he is not left out of a meal or snack time!  :)  So here are a few pictures of our two little monkeys, and thanks to Aunt Jessica, who was visiting, for bringing our party supplies from America.

Our two monkeys are so much fun and we are so thankful to have our hands full most all of the time!

Lily dug in with both hands...it was so much fun.  I don't know how much cake she actually ate, but she loved it.

This is pretty much Jude all the time, just patiently waiting and THRILLED to be at the dinner table again.

Lily made a perfect mess of the cake.

Jude sporting his monkey ears -- for approximately 12 seconds.  He did not like them, so we only caught quick pictures with them on.

Jude preferred for my Mom to feed him his cake.  I think he figured he would get more that way. 

Lily goes in for the grab on Jude's cake or maybe she is just trying to show her brother how to do it!

Lily was glad to wear the ears the whole day and just loved that she was doing it all by herself.

Lily is a little nut, she found this dog bowl and thought it made a perfect hat!

Jude is always up to something...

And always has a good laugh and smile for anyone who says his name.

Jude loved this trampoline at a local park.

Lily was also having fun bouncing on the trampoline.

Swinging on a beautiful Rwandan morning.

Jude can just never get enough of the sing.  He obviously is enjoying himself.

Grandma Dahlstrom bought the twins new chairs made of banana leaves, just their size.  They are a HUGE hit.

Lily is always investing, curious and exploring her surroundings.  She is determined, a bit shy, a go-getter, quick learner, and likes to do things herself.  What joy it has been to have a daughter and watch her grow just as perfectly as her Creator meant for her to be.  I love you, Lils.

Oh Jude, the dude.  This is our son to a T...happy, silly, playful and content.  He loves his big brother and plays beautifully with his little sister.  He is happiest outside and at the dinner table, but really he is pretty much full of smiles all the time.   Such a sweet, tough little boy.  I love you, Jude.