walking...and running!

Marty has been walking more and more in the last week. He is really getting the hang of it and it is SO cute!! Although, when he wants to get somewhere fast, he will drop and crawl. He is getting more confident every day now...
Last weekend we were at some friends house for dinner and Marty fell over and hit his head on a stool. He only cried for a few seconds! The corner of his eye was starting to swell and turn blue shortly after. The next morning, he woke up with a black eye! He didn't seem to care about it at all.

One year ago, Jeff was asked by some friends of ours to run in a relay race. There were 5 people and each person ran 4km. Jeff has never been a runner before, but he thought why not! He ran in cargo pants and runners that were covered in duct tape(because they were falling apart)!! He only had one week notice about the race and he did amazing. If I remember correctly, he did 4km in about 15 minutes! Anyways, since that race he has be running quite consistently. So he did the same race this year, except he didn't do the relay, he did the 10km!

The kids getting ready to watch daddy cross the finish line!He is built like a runner, long and lean! He has a long stride and runs really fast. His race was last Sunday at 8am. We got the kids up and dressed and headed out to watch him run. The kids were so excited to watch daddy run. He was at the beginning of the start line and when the race started he was way out in front. People were telling him to watch his pace because he was going to quickly. This was his very first time ever running 10km!! He lead the race for the first 6.5 kms and then he started to get tired. Two other runners passed him, but he finished the race in third place!!! I think there were about 150 runners in the 10km race. I was SO proud!! He was hoping to finish the run in 40 minutes and his finish time was 40:54 minutes. He received a medal and a cup for doing so well! He was so tired afterwards and we stayed to watch some other friends finish the 1/2 marathon. Then we headed to church! Jeff really is amazing, to see where he was a year ago to now and not doing a "normal" running program or training...sometimes I still can't believe it! Jeff has been working so hard on our new windows. Putting in all the new window sills and window trim. Last week, he would work all day and then come home and work on the windows until the kids went to bed. He is such a hard worker! The windows are looking great and they update the look of our house. There is still lots to do, he hasn't even started on the exterior of the house yet...one thing at a time!

Jeff brought these 3 gerbera daisies home last week. One for each of his girls...so sweet!

Jeff's parents went to visit Eric and Traci for Easter, so we celebrated Easter with them last weekend. They had a fun Easter egg hunt for the girls in their backyard and then we enjoyed a very yummy dinner together.
We went to our church service on Good Friday. It was a very emotional service for me. Good Friday always seems to be hard, just remembering the sacrifice that Christ made for us. The service was a recount of Jesus' last 24 hours and worship. I just feel in awe of what Jesus did for me... While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8. Isn't that just amazing!!! And I just love knowing that Easter Sunday is right around the corner. To know that our hope is because he didn't stay in the tomb!!

On Friday afternoon, I got my haircut. I had not had a haircut in over a year!! It was so fried and desperately needed a cut. I just had a few inches trimmed off the bottom and I got some bangs. I'm still getting used to them, but I think I like them! Jeff still isn't too sure about them. He said he liked the way my hair was before. I think he just needs to get used to them too:)
Since it is Easter and I love Paska...I thought I would try it! I've never made Paska before, but I always love it when other people make it. I found a recipe online to make the dough in the breadmaker. It took 2 hours to make the dough and then I let it rise for about 1/2 hour and then baked it. It turned out awesome!! I made the yummy icing for them too. We had the Paska for Sunday morning breakfast. Maybe I'll make this an Easter tradition for our family, we'll see:)
Last night our really good friends treated us to an amazing dinner out! It was a very fancy restaurant and it was so nice to visit and not have to attend to our kids. Between the 3 couples, we have 8 kids. I am so thankful for the amazing friends in my life....truly, such a blessing!

This morning we went to church and after Marty wakes up from his nap, we will head to my parents place for another Easter dinner...and another Easter egg hunt! And Easter is not done around here yet. We have some friends coming over tomorrow night for a potluck dinner and ANOTHER egg hunt! I think it's going to be egg hunt overload around here:) Megan has her ballet recital this coming Friday and she is so excited about it! She gets her costume this Wednesday and it will also be her last class. Her little class is going to be so cute, I can hardly wait to see them! Her swimming lessons end next week as well, so her schedule will not be as full in a few weeks:) I think I will sign Gabby up for swimming lessons soon, and give her a chance to be in something also. She really loves to play around in the hot tub and I think swimming lessons would be fun for her.

Anyways, sorry this post is so long and a little disorganized, but that's the way it goes sometimes! Hope you all had a blessed Easter:)