Livin' Inside Out Musical

On Saturday, May 17th our church had a children's musical titled "Livin' Inside Out". Both Hope and Jonathan sang in their separate choirs. Hope had a speaking part in the play. She played a sweet, timid little Sarah. She was the youngest girl in the play and was just wonderful. She and Jon both did a fabulous job. We couldn't have been more proud of our little troopers. The musical did a great job of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our prayer that many will come to know Him in a personal way because of it.

Hope the Hitter!!

We are so proud of Hope! She is doing great in baseball. Here is a little clip of her, at her last game on May 15th. Keep it up, Hopie!!

The big 1!

Sweet Alexa turned 1 on the 15th of May. She was absolutely adorable diving into her cake. I must say, I think she takes after me. Icing first and completely gone!! Here she is with her equally adorable little buddy, Maddox Brown. I think these two look precious together. Future Couple? Could be, you never know. We love you Lexie!! Happy Birthday!

Baseball Season is Here

Hope is playing baseball this summer! This is a new experience for her and for us. She had her first game Monday night. She did great! Every

time she was up to bat, she had a hit! We are so proud of her! She is decked out here in her baseball duds! Her team is full of Cripes! It is going to be alot of fun watching all of the 2nd cousins play and Greg's 3 cousins are coaching them all. Hopefully they will continue to do well. They ended their first game with a 22 to 1 score. We have some BIG hitters!

I'm blooming!!

I have two gorgeous lilac bushes beside the garage that are just blooming like crazy! They are just gorgeous and the aroma is so delightful!! The Lord is the master gardener and his creativity is so profound! His works never cease to amaze me.

New glasses

We discovered that Hope is farsighted and in need of some glasses. She did a fantastic job picking out her new spec's. She got them yesterday and looks absolutely darling in them. She is darling whatever way but this just adds to her.

Psalm 128:1-4

"How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD. Who walks in His ways. When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you, Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house, Your children like olive plants around your table. Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD."

Baby Bison

This is Bentley. He is a baby bison at the Cook Bison Ranch. I came across this picture after my last post and wanted to add him. His Momma died during his birth. He is so adorable and friendly. The kids were able to pet him. He is bottle fed and lives in the front yard of the people who run the ranch.

Cook's Bison Ranch

On Friday we went to Cook's Bison Ranch in Wolcottville, IN. Our homeschool group had a wonderful lesson on bison and we went out on the range to feed them. It was really fun! We had a great lunch consisting of bison burgers, chips and a drink. There was a little gift shop there with this tee-pee in front.

My Blond Haired Blue Eyed kids!

These two are my other kids!! This is Alexa & Austin. I watch these adorable little ones every week for Greg's cousin, Heather (she is also my dear friend). They have captured my heart and Hope & Jonny's. We have a great time together on Tuesdays!

Happy 1st Birthday Abby!!!

It is Abby's Birthday today!! She is 1year old or 7 in dog years. She received this delicious rawhide (yuck) bone! It has been devoured today. I think she feels just a tad bit older and more mature. She is such a trip!! She's sitting up like a pretty girl! We almost went for the party hat but thought she would be way too embarrassed for that. Happy Birthday girl! We love you so much you hairy little blond!

Psalm 34:8

"O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"

Gym Day

Our homeschool group gets together once a month for Gym Day. We played, ran, played, ran, and ran out of breath. We have a great group of Moms who have very creative games (thanks Shari, Kelly, Pam, Tammy, and Cindy)! My legs are still sore!

Science Project on The Water Cycle

Last Monday, Hope went to Oxbow County Park and learned all about the Water Cycle. This is a program designed for Homeschooled kids by one of the parks Naturalist. The kids get great hands on learning and have a wonderful time together. We

did our own little experiment at home with some white carnations. We put the carnations in a jar of water with blue food coloring in it. Within an hour, they were slightly tinted blue. And after 24 hours, the above is the end result. It was neat to see how whatever the color of water, it is transported up the stem to the petals. Way to go Hope!!

Spring Break 2008

Ok, since we took our vacation in Feb. , we did not take an official "spring break". But we did manage to have a little fun and pamper ourselves alittle. We had a girls night out. My dear friend Lora and I took our little ladies out for dinner then we had manicures and pedicures!! Whoa!! I must say this was my first ever and definately not the last! I can't speak Vietnamese but I think we were talked about by our friendly little nail artists. Hope and Hannah had the cutest little toes and fingernails I have ever seen. They are little ladies!! We had to end the evening with something a little sweet....so Frosty's for the girls. Not the Mom's, we ran out of $!!

Hug me more!!

Alright, I have to put in a picture that the kids snapped. It is a great reminder to them that Mommy & Daddy love each other so much!! The kids love to use the camera but most of the pictures are of half something's. This one was good and centered, of course we posed a little!!

Jonny the snowboarder!!

This was at a gym day this winter for our homeschooling group. Jonny thought he would try his hand at snowboarding. He did really well. As you can see he has his hands ready for lift off!!

Upwards Basketball

This winter Hope played Upwards Basketball. Greg helped coach her team. She has a real desire to play basketball like her Daddy. This is a picture of her with her dear friend Tori who was also on her team. They had a great time together. The were so competitive scrimmaging against each other but always laughed and encouraged each other. They were a real delight to watch! Keep it up, girls!!!

Girls Day Out

On friday a group of friends went to a discount food store and did some bargain-hunting. We then went to" Christine's" tea house in Bremen for a wonderful tea party. It was such a treat. The goodies were absolutely delicious!! From left to right are: Tammy W., Connie C., Shawn S., Kelly Y., and me. We had a great time just hanging out and laughing. We will have to do it again sometime.

The owner has a unique little house for tea parties! What a fun time to be with a group of special friends.

Easter Sunday!!

He is Risen!!! Hallelujah!!! Easter Sunday is such a special time for us!! We love to celebrate the risen Lord!! We were decked out in yellow. All color coordinating, the first time, and maybe last. It is not an easy task I might add. We spent the afternoon with Greg's dad and step mom and his step siblings hunting eggs in the living room.

Can't keep them out

The kids love our bathtub. We had to lay down some ground rules that they could only use our bathroom once a week but their other baths happen in their tub. They got a little carried away with the bubbles but it made a darling picture. Quite frankly, I enjoy it immensely!! Calgon take me away!!

Home Sweet Home

The Lord has provided a wonderful place for us to call "Home". After 3 years of living in my parents' basement apartment we now call 60854 Ridgepoint Ct. our home. We are so thankful and feel very blessed. The kids have a great back yard and we have ROOM. We moved in right after our vacation to Kalahari, the middle of February. We are so enjoying it.

Our Vacation to Kalahari

We had a fabulous time in Ohio at an indoor waterpark called Kalahari. I would highly recommend it to everyone. We had a blast. Jonathan and Hope were so waterlogged! They so much enjoy the water. This was a little vacation for us in February. Great food, excellent water activities and a whole lotta family fun. We are thinking this might be our annual winter thing!! Our kids really enjoy each other which we are so thankful for. They even hug without being asked to.

Season's Greetings

These are pictures of Tammy's family. We were together on Christmas Day. Her sister Jody and new husband were married this winter. Her parents winter in FL and her sister Gay lives in an apartment in Elkhart.

Christmas with Family

Hope played a little piano for us at Grandma & Grandpa Cripes. She has been taking lessons since summer and has gotten pretty good. She enjoys it and wish I could play. Never too late to learn, I guess.

This was a little snap shot at the big Cripe Christmas! As you can tell we are all very serious and we do not cut loose and have any laughs!! It was a riot to see all these cuties!!

Unfortunately, we didn't have any for the adults. Maybe next year. It was such a blessing to get together and celebrate the real reason for the season, our wonderful Savior Jesus Christ.

Christmas Time!

This is Jonathan, Hope and the adorable Abby in front of our little Christmas tree. We had a wonderful Christmas!! Jonathan turned 5 on the 3rd of December. Hope turned 8 soon after on January 14. Abby will be 1 at the end of April.

World's Worst Blogger!!!

Ok, here it is April and I have not posted anything since November!! I could say that I have taken a little time off to do some serious soul searching and have had a remarkable recovery but I know you wouldn't believe me. The truth of the matter is that we had dial-up and it took wwwaaaayyyyy to long to download so out of pure frustration....I gave up. But I am back!!! And I am armed with DSL!!! So let me update you a bit. We will start with Christmas and move to the present. Bear with me.

Special Times

On Thanksgiving Weekend we were able to visit with Greg's cousin Leina and her husband Brian Smoker. They live near Denver, Colorado with their 5 beautiful children: Mark, Elizabeth, Tara, Curtis, and William. They were passing thru Indiana on their way back to Colorado from Pennsylvania. They kids had such a special time playing with cousins they don't get to see very often. We loved the time catching up and retelling old stories. We are so blessed to have special times like these.

Playing Dress Up

Our dog, Abby gets the privilege of being dressed up by Hope. Hope loves it!! Abby tolerates it!

Leaves of Autumn

Our kids love to be outside!! Especially when we have raked up the leaves and tell them to go at it!! Hope & Jon spent a long time burying each other in what used to be our garden, and is now a huge pile of leaves. They even had the opportunity to bury Greg!!! But unfortunately there is no picture to prove it.

Halloween 2007

This year for Halloween the kids were dressed up as Spider-Man & a Renaissance Princess. They both had a great time visiting family. They received way too much candy for one house with two kids!!!

Mi Amiga

This is my dear friend, Veronica Hekkema. We were blessed to have her spend a few days with us in October before she headed home to Argentina. She brought with her, her "adopted American" Mom, Joanna. We have now adopted Joanna as our very own. She is such a sweetie. What a fun time we had shopping in Michigan City, eating at the Essenhaus, and just laughing til our bellies hurt. Vero is a missionary, now to the Dominican Republic, but previously in Costa Rica where we met in 2005. Ring, Ring...I am calling you!