Happy Easter!

Easter 2010, 9 days before having Ax

Easter 2011

It's become a tradition for us to color eggs on Easter day... Last year a dear friend was in Greece over Easter & told us that they dye all their eggs red for Easter to represent the blood of Christ.  And, she brought back a packet of dye for us to use this year! 

It was timely & beautiful since this is the first Easter we've actually grasped ALL that's in the Atonement.  Yes, Christ died on the cross for our sins, but He also was beaten & whipped for our infirmities before getting the the cross.  By His stripes WE ARE HEALED!  We have come to know this promise to be true in our family this year, 2000 years later.  He took up our infirmities (sickness, disease, injuries) so that we don't have to be sick, have diseases or injuries!  He's paid the price - we don't have to!  Claiming this authority that we have over sickness is real & life changing.  Thank you Jesus for your spiritual, emotional & physical healing that you promise in your Word & thank you for our salvation.  

Grumpy old men.

This picture makes me chuckle every time...  

Our words have power.

We have heard about this experiment  - mainly scientists doing this & looking at the ice crystals under a microscope to see the difference between the two.  J decided to do our own experiment.  One doesn't have to be a scientist to see the difference in the cups of water that exited our freezer.  We did it twice with the same results. We don't know what the results mean, but they are clearly different.

Left cup:      Right cup:

Satan            Jesus
Death           God
Hell              Love
Idiot             Peace
Hate             Forgiveness

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  Ephesians 4:29

Swedes + Vashon = fun day trip away!

We have some relatives from Sweden paying Seattle a visit so, we loaded up the car & went over to Vashon Island for a mini little family reunion.  At the last minute, I "asked" (begged) Melis if we could take the boys along... she agreed!  They were such a joy!  We pulled into the driveway announcing that the short bus had arrived!  (Thank goodness for a 7 seater!)  I don't have too many pictures to share but, trust me - it was so fun, the weather was great & we all hit our pillows hard that night!

 kids on the teeter-totter in the distance...

 From Sweden:  Christina & Sven Ake

Rikard & Magnus

A special day together - Thanks Melis!!!

On a whim L & I met Melis & the boys at Alderwood Mall.  I cannot get over the deep connection between L & her cousins.  It's nothing less than beautiful, hysterical & completely touching.  May the good Lord always keep them close...

Purse shopping:

 They wanted in on the fun... Lord bless the kind, patient workers at this store!   

 Taken by D...

 ...another D photo...

 ... and another "Derek Lui" masterpiece.

Never a dull moment with these toddlers keeping us entertained...

Axel Benj is ONE!

This has been an incredibly heavy week for our family.  I must admit... I had high hopes of creating the perfect first birthday cake(s), having a special theme, colors & fun goodie bags to send home with each child.  None of this happened.  But in true Birt fashion, we made the most of it & celebrated this little boy as best we knew how.

Happy birthday to the boy that has exceeded our expectations in every way.  We are madly in love with you & have been honored to be your parents.

 Birthday morning donuts & hot cocoa courtesy of M!

 First donut!  (For the record, he put the older kids to shame - he gobbled it up in record time!)

 Bake me a cake as fast as you can...

 Nils & auntie

 The gang

 Carrot cakes

 For Lai's first, we topped her cupcake with her favorite food, a blueberry.  

We did the same for Axel, a piece of stake.  

Taken at 6:45pm - the exact time he entered the world, one year ago.  

Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate our son.  

We look forward to having uncle Jeff at Axey's party next year!  

Sleeping Beauty.

Lately L has decided she doesn't want to sleep with covers because her cousin's "Bren-Derek" don't.  We oblige, but then go in and cover her before we go to bed.  Tonight as my eyes were adjusting to the darkness & I was locating her covers I gasped as my eyes caught her pregnant belly.  I quickly whistled for Jason to look, we could barely contain our chuckles.  We then laughed harder upon unzipping her jams.

Total count:  3 stuffed animals, 1 sippy cup.  

Dedicated to my man.

As some of you know, I spent the last 5 days in Austin, TX.  (It was a life changing trip that I can't wait to share about - I'll fill y'all in later.)  Anyway, flying home we had a quick lay-over in San Jose.  Before boarding our plane my brother-in-law "lovingly" informed me that my "husband's hero's" were right behind me.  To my amazement the entire Sounds Football Club was getting ready to board OUR plane!  They graciously allowed me to get a photo with them (as they totally mocked my GIANT backpack... note how far behind Brad Evans had to stand to make room for the big pack...)  After the photo I called Jason & Kasey Keller graciously agreed to chat it up for a bit.  K-A-S-E-Y K-E-L-L-E-R!  They talked for awhile & then we all boarded the plane.  This was a great way to end a special time away!