Springtime and March Madness!

Spring is here and it's so nice to see the trees starting to bloom once again!

Joe's back at the grill  after the cold winds of wintertime!

He makes the BEST fish - Mahi Mahi and Salmon

And of course, Spring means March Madness!

The boys and I  get our brackets printed out and closely follow all of the scores!

The boys then, of course, are so motivated to practice their dribbling and shooting.

They are getting good!

As you can see in the previous picture, Willie, the dog, is the referee.....he even has

the black and white uniform for it!

Arizona is out of the Tournament, but the Jayhawks are still in!

Hoping they go for the championship this year!

Where There's Smoke.......There's Fire!

There has been a smoky tint to the north of  us these days -

and a bit of a smoky smell to the air.

Off to the northwest there is definitely a FIRE in the mountains!

I have not heard anything about it on the news, so I am

assuming it is a controlled burn......

which happens often this time of year to get rid of much of the dead debris before

the storms of the monsoon season begin.

Working With Dad !

With all four of our boys, Jonathan down to Joshua, Joe has deliberately taught them 

skills at a young age and had them work alongside him.

Isaac and Joshua, at "almost ten" and "almost nine" are the perfect age for this.

They love hanging out with their dad, and they know he will always 

take them out to eat when the work is done!

One of our rentals in town needed some painting, and prep work done to make

room for a remodeled kitchen.

Boys to the rescue!

First up - haul out the old boards to the dumpster.

(Rather blurry, but these boys were moving!)

Including the old kitchen sink!

Taping before painting........

Now comes the fun part!

Ah yes.....time for a great meal!

And another benefit of the boys and Joe working together?

I got to go do errands and have the day to myself - definitely needed!

We watched the movie, "COURAGEOUS", again the other night and I was once again

reminded how grateful I am that Joe has, and continues to be, a wonderful father.

He is so committed to spending time with the boys, and teaching

them God's Word!

We are all very blessed!

Joshua's Gotcha Day - Six Years Home!

This was the first look we got of two year old Joshua as he was brought to us from the

Children's Welfare Institute of Wuhan, China.

He was terrified.

But after spending the afternoon with his new mom and big sister, having a wonderful 

good-smelling bath, and getting him out of the mothball smelling clothes, we were making progress!

Joshua is such a smart, happy boy and we are so glad he is part of our family!

Enjoy your special day and have fun going through your China box!

Ooohhhhh!!!!  Chinese money!