Maddie's Baptism

Today marked another day that Dad and I will treasure forever; Maddie chose to be baptized.  Maddie has been asking for a few months now, so when Constance was having a huge baptism event on Easter, she did not hesitate to say that today would be her day.

Maddie declared her love to trust and follow Jesus before our church family. She shared her story, including her time in foster care, which was really emotional. The entire process was such a beautiful sight, bringing so much joy and happiness to Dad and me. Such a blessing today was, and so proud of her. Definitely one of the greatest moments as parents is being able to say that all five of our children have chosen to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

He is Risen!

Today we celebrated my favorite holiday, Easter. Just love this day, it’s so simple but meaningful. We had our traditional Easter morning of church, Resurrection eggs, Bible story, opening our Easter biblical gifts, and eating our Easter meal. We ended our day by playing games and relaxing at home.

He is Risen indeed! Happy Easter

Kallen Turns 14 Years Old

Today marked another first for Kallen: he officially turned another year older out of state. We were able to wish him a Happy 14th right at 3:42 AM, standing in line at the airport. This also means it felt like the longest birthday ever because he had been up since 2 AM. Right now, I'd summarize him as determined, outgoing, compassionate, and loud. He still loves anything to do with friends, family, video games, dinosaurs, and soccer. So grateful for him and love watching him continue to grow more in his faith.  

Happy 14th Birthday, Kallen - We love you!

As mentioned above, no party yet since we were traveling home from Florida. So, he celebrated it at home with the meal of his choice (Willy McCoy's), cake, opening gifts, and watching March Madness.

Epic Universe

Today was our last official day at Universal Studios. We ended at Epic Universe. The park just opened under a year ago, and it was obvious. The attractions were amazing and authentic. We spent much of our day at Berk for How to Train a Dragon and Nintendo World. At Berk, we meet Toothless, Hiccup, and ride one of our favorite rides (at least three times too). The other half of the day was spent at Nintendo, where the boys played video games for over an hour with their Nintendo Power Bands. The day was nonstop fun, and by far the best day we had. We were sad to leave but knew we needed sleep as we woke up at two this morning to catch our flight home.

Island of Adventures

Today we visited the Island of Adventures at Universal, and it did not disappoint. The temps were cooler, which kept the lines shorter. Everyone was able to ride every ride they wanted except for the Hulk ride. We made a full day of it and left with lots of smiles. Some highlights were Kallen meeting Blue, Caleb doing some magic and killing the Dark Magic Knight with his wand, and dad, Elyse, and Maddie doing the Veloceraptor ride.