Misc. March

A big change in the Strzinek household involved hair...or the cutting of hair. Wade had been threatening to shave his head for years. He finally did it. I was more nervous than he was. But I have to say, I got used to really quick and like it a lot. 

And our new family members were about 25 ants. Tate received the ant farm for Christmas and finally got the ants in the mail, since they can't be shipped during the Winter. Tate was funny. He is not scared of much (or says at least), but the ants in the package freaked him out. He was practically hiding on the other side of the house when Wade put them in their new home. But after that, he was cool. And I'm sure I wasted a lot of time just staring at these things. They are in non-stop motion. 

RIP "Bob the Ant" and other Unnamed Ants:

March 2013 - May 2013

And March proved to fit perfectly with the predictably unpredictable Spring in Texas. One day was gorgeous, sunny. The next was freezing. Both boys LOVE being outside and could be out there just about all day if they had any say over it.

Double fisting it on the slide...talent.

Something I love about Tate is that whatever he is into, he is WAY into it. So in February and March, he was WAY into learning about the presidents, specifically Abraham Lincoln. I'm not sure what it is about him, but Tate has been pretty fascinated ever since. His teacher caught on to his enthusiasm and had him do a special project on good 'ol Abe. We actually all learned a lot about the guy in the process. One sunny day Wade took the boys to the park, and Tate was more interested in reading his Abraham Lincoln book from the library. Made his history-buff Dad pretty happy. 

Sometimes it's more fun to watch TV with a little different perspective.   :)

During one of the absolutely coldest days in March (wind chill in the teens), Tate and I went with my Dad to watch a collegiate tennis match. TCU vs. CAL. We rarely get a chance to cheer on CAL in Texas, so we were the obnoxious Away team supporters. It was lots of fun to watch, even if our faces were practically numb.

Go Bears!

This kid LOVES his chips & salsa. :)

Love these little unprompted brotherly love moments.  :)

And this is the reaction to the "Dream Weaver" Ken & Barbie scene in Toy Story.  Every time. 

Easter 2013 ~ Parts One & Two

Easter 2013 needs to be split into two parts...two drastically different parts.

Part One includes your typical pre-Easter festivities. The day before Easter, we took the boys to my parent's house where they got to dye and hunt Easter eggs. (And yes, it was the first time to dye eggs for Tate. I put it off as long as I could. Then the first time was a mess at the grandparent's house...score!)  :)

Will really got into finding the eggs this year, and they both had a great time. Tate was pretty excited to find out what was in those eggs. Ch-ching! I'm trying not to hold it over his head that when I was a kid, Mimi & Grandpa only hid real, hard-boiled eggs for us to find. No candy. No money. Life is good as a grandchild. 

Later that day at home, I scored "Fun Mom" points for buying two dozen cascarones. Of course Wade trumped by fun-ness by actually participating in the egg fight. I happily watched and documented the throw down.

And we finished up the evening by making Resurrection Rolls. Tate enjoyed helping and then definitely enjoyed eating them. A great visual lesson on why all of this celebration is going on...the empty tomb!

Now Part Two. So Saturday evening we got everything ready for a full Easter Sunday of church and more time with family. Outfits ironed and laid out. Baskets ready. And then things took an unexpected turn. Sparing some of the lovely details, Wade had a pretty big health scare. In the end, thankfully he was completely fine. But a midnight trip to the ER, followed by 18 tense hours waiting for results from a CT scan and emergency colonoscopy, were not how we all envisioned our Easter Sunday.

I'm thankful for my Dad showing up at our house at midnight, so I could be with Wade. And for my in-laws for taking Tate to church and going along with the egg hunt, so he could have as normal an Easter possible without being too scared. But mostly, I'm so thankful that the biggest disappointment about Easter 2013 was not a scary diagnosis but that I don't have cute Easter pictures of my kids. Just typing that out gives a big dose of perspective. Although I was able to snap this adorable picture when I brought Will to the hospital for a visit.  :)

I've seen it happen to many people around me and know in some ways how life can change in an instant. So needless to say and even with no cute pictures of our family on Easter Sunday, I was extremely thankful to hear the normal chaos of our house when this guy got back home.

Squeaky Clean

Bathtime. The craziest time. The cutest time. Trying to remember to soak it in and enjoy.

Tate had fully made the switch to showers until Will discovered bubble baths in Mom & Dad's big bathtub...with the jacuzzi jets. Baths then got way more exciting for the big brother.

But then there are those times when a boy just has to sing in the shower.

Spring Break 2013

We didn't have any big plans for Spring Break. But by this point in the year, we were all feeling the drain of the early morning rush, homework, routines, etc. So I wanted it to be a fun week for a true break. We kicked it off with fro yo with whatever toppings he wanted.

Tate got to see several friends during the week that he rarely sees during the school year.

Easter Art class with Annie. And on-purpose face paining was not supposed to be involved. How you don't even even realize the paint is all over your face is beyond me? :)

Bowling (always hilarious!) with friend-since-birth, Jackson.

And on a very cold Spring Break evening, we went to cheer on the Keller Indians's Varsity baseball team. One of the closing pitchers goes to our church. Tate is now a little star struck. I usually hear, "Mom, there's Garrison" every Sunday morning. But Tate will not speak two words to him. :)

Some of us spent Spring Break just looking cute. Even without clothes on.

And we finished up the fun week with a St. Patrick's Day tradition...green pancakes & smoothies. I think by this point in the lineage, my boys can only claim 1/8 Irish heritage. But hey it's a holiday, so we'll still celebrate!

It was a fun break for everyone!

The Bitter & The Sweet ~ Passover Seder

A weird thing about growing older is I find myself savoring and enjoying tradition even more. As a person of faith, the Passover meal is one of the most sacred of traditions. I was able to experience my first Passover Seder a few years ago and loved every minute of it.

So as we approached this Easter season, I was in a conversation with our church's Campus Minister about hosting a Seder for our Small Group. A few more people became interested. A few more conversations, emails, calls, and before I knew it, we were setting up a Seder for over 200 people at our Southlake campus.

Although it was a little hectic and I chopped apples for charoset like a crazy woman, I absolutely loved sharing this tradition with so many.

It was a wonderful evening for families. It was a wonderful evening for both the old and the young to remember the beautiful story of redemption we celebrate.

After the bitter, comes the sweet.

"Give thanks unto The Eternal, for He is good, 

for His mercy endureth for ever. 

Let Israel now say, 

that His mercy endureth for ever. 

Let the House of Aaron now say, 

that His mercy endureth for ever. 

Let all those who fear The Eternal now say, 

that His mercy endureth for ever."