Closing Curtains on Casper

For our last evening in Casper, we spent it with the people who've meant the most to us here - our church family at Cornerstone! The kids performed the musical, "It's Cool in the Furnace," about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to go along with the sermon series on Daniel that Pastor Jack has been preaching. They look very cool, don't you think? Some people joked that a musical about a furnace would be an appropriate note for the Boaz family to leave on, considering the toasty temperatures we are moving to this summer! Check out the amazing special effects as the three friends and their fourth companion enjoy the furnace:

Great job, kids!! I've loved doing Christmas musicals and Sunday School with you all!

After the musical, we had a farewell potluck and shared laughter and tears as we remembered our time here at Cornerstone...


Gifts and hugs for our mentors and partners in ministry, Pastor Jack and Linda Olsen. We are amazed when we think of how perfectly God orchestrated it so we could learn from them and serve together. We love you, Pastor Jack and Linda!


My favorite friends on Sunday mornings - the preschool/kindergarten Sunday School class, and my partner in crime, er - teaching, Lynda! I'll miss you all so much!!!


Saying goodbye is the hardest part, but like Pastor Jack reminded us, for brothers and sisters in Christ, "goodbye" is only temporary.

Family Portraits

One of our goals while in Colorado was to get a family picture of Rachel's side.... Here are some favorites:

The Boaz Family (This may be the closest thing to spring we get this year, moving from Wyoming's April snowstorms to the warmth of Texas!)

Can't believe we got Johnathan to sit still long enough to smile!

Naomi loves to pose for the camera!

We'll pull out this picture next time they're recreating WWII over a toy.

All the way my Savior leads me...

...What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell.
For I know, whatever befall me,
Jesus does all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul a-thirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo, a spring of joy I see.

Behind the Scene at Dairy Queen

Naomi and Johnathan had a memorable lunch at DQ this week. Our friends Jim and Lynda, who own the Casper DQs, took them behind the counter after lunch to make their own ice cream cones and dip them in cherry coating. Yum! They learned the fine art of putting the swirl on top of the ice cream and savored each bite. Kevin also realized his long-time dream of dipping a Blizzard in cherry coating.

Kevin's Butterfinger Blizzard dipped in cherry coating - How does he come up with this stuff?

Mrs. Lynda coaches the kids on art of cone-making:

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our niece, Heather, and her husband, David, on the birth of their daughter on Tuesday, April 14. Welcome, Carolanne! Your great-uncle and great-aunt and cousins look forward to meeting you.

He is Risen!

Our Easter outfits


Dyeing eggs

Our last Easter at Cornerstone

"Cooking my egg"

We had a fun Easter this weekend! We went to Cornerstone's Good Friday service, did lots of packing, colored eggs, and went to church on Sunday. After church we had a great dinner at the Shellenbergers, and when we got home the sun peeked out just long enough to hunt for Reese's eggs in the backyard.

Naomi's "Pool Party"

When Naomi found out we were moving to Texas, one of her first exclamations was, "But I didn't get to have my pool party with all my friends!" All winter, she'd been planning to inflate her pool and play with her friends in the backyard. So we promised that before we moved, we would invite the gang over to play, minus the pool. Here are some pictures from the big event...

Mutton Busting and More Snow

Casper Mountain is beautiful right now with all the snow. Makes me dearly miss my cross country skis I sent to Colorado...



Last summer, the kids and I set out to visit every city park in Casper. So far, we've hit 33 of the 43 parks. We hoped to meet our goal before moving, but the weather hasn't quite cooperated! Despite the snow still on the ground and chilly temperatures today, though, we just had to get out of the house. Today we visited these sheep on the corner of A Street and Center. You can see how anxious Naomi is for summer - She has her shades and visor all ready to go!

Passover for Preschoolers

Today we celebrated a Messianic Passover Seder with our play group pals. We tried all the foods - Naomi loved the salt water and the nuts in the charoset, and Johnathan enjoyed smashing his roasted egg into his matza. Naomi decided the horseradish was "too spicy" to eat, but Johnathan was okay with it! We heard the story of Moses from Mrs. Patchen, and even had a matza hunt!

My list of favorite moments:
1. Seeing the little guys' slightly bewildered expressions at the plate of strange foods set in front of them.
2. Enjoying the company of Titus, the triceratops. Everyone looks for Elijah at their Seder, but no one expects a dinosaur to show up!
3. Naomi's pondering that perhaps Pharoah would have let the Israelites go if Moses had asked more nicely.

Snow Day(s)!

Since it is now spring, we've been getting more snow than ever in Casper! The first big March storm brought over a foot of snow (right after a weekend of temperatures in the 60's). Although the Civic got stuck (again) and there was lots of snow to shovel from the driveway, we also enjoyed a cozy evening inside, hot cocoa with whipped cream, and playing outside. I'm so glad we didn't send our snow suits to Colorado yet. We did have to pull our mittens and boots from the box they were already packed in, though!

We were hoping to get a little more "snow time" before moving to Texas, and we sure have... Since the first blizzard, we've gotten a new batch of snow every few days, with more on the way!