At the Alpaca Farm

The kids and I had a fun visit to a nearby alpaca (or as Johnathan pronounces it, ala-paca!)farm this morning with buddies Ellie and Margaret. The animals are so sweet, with their soft fur and big eyes. The kids had fun trying to entice them to come over to sample the hay they offered. If they held still enough, the little alpacas would come over and sniff their faces - at which point the Boaz siblings would scare them off by squealing and running away!

We learned, among other things, that alpacas are mainly raised for hair and are sheared once a year, they only have teeth on the bottom of their mouth, and baby alpacas are called cria.

Here is a little girl who was just born on Saturday.

She and her attentive mama stuck close together.

A morning of furry fun with our friends!

Naomi's Preschool Graduation

Naomi's preschool end of the year program was today. Can't believe she'll be heading off to kindergarten this fall. The kids sang lots of cute songs, were awarded "Godly Traits" certificates, and had pizza for lunch.



Naomi was awarded the godly trait of "Initiative". She definitely loves to take the initiative - she's never been one to sit back and not get involved! Here she is crossing the stage to get her certificate from Mrs. Letz with her baby picture on the big screen (What are they trying to do - make a pregnant Mommy cry?).

Don't miss this video of Miss Naomi singing "I'm Not Perfect":

Still growing...

It's been compared to a basketball, an Easter egg, and a "feat of architectural engineering" (my personal favorite!).

I just call it "the baby bunker"...

Seriously, how much larger can my belly get?

At my 34 week appointment on Monday, we got the report that Baby Boaz is still in the upper 90th percentile for his size - maybe 6 1/2 pounds. And he is very low. I'm starting to dialate a little, so it may not be too long now. We'll keep you posted!

The Nursery

We're ready for you, little guy, whenever you're ready to make your appearance! Here's your new room.

Mommy's Day

Happy Mother's Day to our moms in Colorado!

I had a very relaxing Mother's Day. I resolved to do nothing related to work, and discovered that in my recent months of "nesting," I think I've forgotten how to relax. I do know how to collapse at the end of the day - I just don't remember how to forget about the big "to do before the baby" list! But I did my best to kick back today.

Kevin and the kids helped by getting me a comfy deck rocking chair. I look forward to watching the kids play outside while rocking the baby this summer. They also grilled a yummy dinner and made ice cream sundaes which we enjoyed in the back yard.

The Fire Station Bedroom

We've been building up Johnathan's move to his new "fire station bedroom" for a while now... for the most part he's been excited, but since he's not the biggest fan of change, we weren't sure how he'd respond when it became a reality.

The wall is up...

This is the point at which Johnathan was campaigning pretty hard to stay in his old room. He told me repeatedly, "I can't sleep in here. There's too much boxes!" Can't blame him - it did look like a messy storage unit at this stage.

The big unveiling...

He loves it! We have a few more finishing touches to add, but Johnathan loves his new room and fire truck bed. He actually had to kick the family out so he could have it to himself for his afternoon rest time. The room is very peaceful and has a great view of the playground behind the house.

Now it's time to get the nursery finished!

James 1:9-11

These verses seem a little out of place in this passage in James, teaching about trials, then suddenly jumping to taking pride in both "humble circumstances" and in a "high position". Kevin explained that it is more relevant in this spot that we might realize at first glance. For so many, financial issues are a trial that comes often in life. And both positions, rich and poor, can cause us to fall away from faithfulness to Jesus.

These verses remind us that whether we find ourselves in humble circumstances or a high position, the goal of our life must be a passionate love for Christ, because we all end up the same way, and it won't matter in the end how rich or poor we were in this life.

Kevin also reminded us that for nearly all of us in the United States, in the perspective of all nations, we fall in the category of the richest in the world - even if it feels like we personally don't have as much as we would like. That fact is easy to forget in the materialistic focus of our culture.