Still going through old pictures...

Every year the Cornelius side of the family has a gathering for whomever can come. In 2005 we were able to drive up from Loma Linda and be with the entire side of his family. I think that was the last time everyone could make it, so I'm thankful we got to go. Andrew's Aunt has access to some great spots on the coast, so we spent a few nights in Morrow Bay. It is so beautiful there, even in the winter. 

5 years later, Andrew's Grandparents are Great Grandparents to 8 little ones!

ENTER...

Enter little boy who is feeding himself (almost all the time)

Enter too much time spent inside this winter.

Enter the 2 cutest brothers (In my personal opinion)

Enter Linus (I mean John Lewis)

Enter the new haircut which makes my baby look like a toddler (oh wait, he's becoming one)

Enter TEETH!! He finally has 7. 

Enter playtime after dinner with Daddy.

Enter creativity.

Enter flying Linus. (His shirt says Ankle Biter. I love it.)

Enter Shaun the Sheep with Daddy before bed.

Exit with couch time turned into nap time before I could get him in his crib. (John I mean) ;)

These 4 people are what fill up my time and my heart. 

Reminiscing...

Back in August 2005, Andrew and I spent our savings and had the most wonderful trip together. A cruise around Europe. The only way to sum it up is...I want to go back. We saw so many different cities in our short few weeks, but each one of them we only got a sampling of and they already call for my return. I want the kids to taste Belgian chocolate from Brugges, climb the stairs of the Colosseum, peer up from the bottom of the Eiffel Tower in awe of it's enormity, walk the Champs Elysses, and see the architecture in Barcelona while tasting Tapas all the way. Someday. I hope to educate them through travel, to have them realize there is more to this world and to God's creation than their surroundings. We hope to do mission trips as well at some point with the kids, showing them the needs of others and our heart's desire to serve. We love traveling, we love serving. What awesome opportunity there could be for both at once! For now, I will just reminisce and scroll through pictures. Life at this point has our ministry at home raising the little ones, but I'm so thankful we took this trip when we did.

At a small cafe in Amserdam

What a sight.

The Louvre

Beautiful door in Lisbon, Portugal

In Rome at the Colosseum

Florence, Italy

Gaudi's most impressive work, Barcelona

Barcelona at night

Have you been to any of these places? 

Kids

Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky.  

~Fran Lebowitz

Crayola Factory

For the weekend of March 12, we  decided to skip town and go do something fun. Thanks to Hotwire, we got a nice hotel for cheap and stayed the night out in Easton where the Crayola Factory is located. The drive was going great until we hit construction traffic, but luckily we had already made our pitstop at WAWA (which is where we were told we HAD to stop by many a doctor) to feed our faces and my chai addiction. It's not just any gas station. They have a smoothie bar, I got a hot sandwich, the kids ate a full meal and got their packs of gum. Ella picked pink of course. Never mind traffic, we had food and the DVD to the rescue. At the hotel the kids had a fun bath time and we all ended up with a good night sleep. Breakfast at the hotel and we were off for our adventure. The factory is right in downtown and is also attached to the Canal Museum. The kids had a great time there. Even John was entertained. It was Very Hungry Caterpillar Day so we got to hear a story and meet the bug himself. If you come to see us, we will happily enjoy another trip to Easton with you! 

(this photo courtesy of wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayola if you want to learn more about Crayola, I find it super interesting!