Days With the Duerksens

With Easter being so late this year, Chelan's birthday landed on Good Friday! He has always said that birthdays are no big deal, he doesn't expect anything. I have always said that birthdays are important becuase if there hadn't been a "birth day," he wouldn't be here today. That's why we have to celebrate! Anyway, we really don't make a big deal out of our birthdays. And this year, that was okay since I was getting ready for an Easter gathering here. The kids made him cards and we surprised him with an ice cream cake from DQ. It was a short pause in the day to celebrate 36 years! Chelan, your life is definitely worth celebrating!

This post is mainly for my memory - I've decided to use this blog as my new "scrapbook." It was so hard to find time to sit down and work on my scrapbooks that I've decided I'll print this blog each year as our family book. So, sometimes, my posts are really only for that purpose! I am keeping Delaney's book separate for her first year, and I do have school albums for the kids and a vacation album. Hmmmm - I guess I'm not really giving that much up! Thanks to my cousin, Tina, I have a few more Easter pictures. She has a great camera, and I had forgotten mine. The kids had an Easter egg hunt after church. I thought these pictures of Cambry were so "springy" and "Eastery!"

What a beautiful day! Every year I am amazed again at the Easter story -- the ups and downs of Holy Week, the last supper, the betrayal, the crucifixion, the resurrection! I'm not sure there is any more dramatic story anywhere! And all for us? I am amazed! This was, of course, Delaney's first Easter! By the end of the weekend, this is how things were going . . . She could care less about Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans. Isn't that how it should be for all of us? All weekend, I tried my hardest to incorporate the Easter story into things the older kids were doing (we go on hunts to find a surprise, like when the tomb was empty, etc.) My hope is that our children will grow up to be "Easter People" all year round! Of course, we did have fun with hunts, dinners, and chocolate. Here are some pictures! Have you ever dyed brown eggs? The colors are actually very nice -- jewel-like tones! Caiden and Cambry had fun doing this....

The last 2 weeks have been remarkable in terms of Delaney's development. Her newest milestone is babbling, babbling, babbling -- especially when she's on the move! She's also been working on climbing up these 2 steps. Shortly after I took this video, she accomplished that, too!

. . . when we put off washing the eggs. We get a whole counter-full!

Oh, the life of a farm cat - or kitten! This poor kitten has had quite a life in his 2 short weeks! For some reason, its mother keeps putting it in the hay trailer. This wouldn't be a problem except that the cows are fed twice a day with it. This poor kitten has accidentally been fed to the cows at least 4 or 5 times! Luckily, the cows don't eat kittens and someone ends up finding it eventually. Chelan and Duane have made a perfectly good nest of hay in an old baler for it, and this is where I found them when I took the picture. However, the mother insists that the hay trailer is the best place for her one and only kitten, and keeps putting it back in! We never know where we will find it next, but we really want this one to live. It's our only cat (besides the mother)! I keep wondering how many lives this kitten has!

Delaney had quite an eventful week. She went from this . . . . . . To this - in the span of about 30 seconds. The next morning, she was on her knees in her crib - looking over the side. Needless to say, we finally moved her crib mattress down! All this moving around and standing on her own is coming a little sooner than I was ready for. It leaves me wondering if she will be an early walker - am I really ready for that??!! She seems to have quite the determination - a trait she shares with her brother! On this day, she had every snack and meal outside because it was such a beautiful day. We practically moved outside for the day! We are loving spring!!!!

We love you, Aunt Tris! This is often Cambry's comment after getting out of the tub . . . Just in case you're wondering what Trissa's hair looks like . . .Here is a picture of her and her beautiful hair -- I really do love it! There's really no comparison between the two, but you just never know what might come out of the mouth of a 4 year old!

It's time for a monthly update - 8 months already! In 2 short weeks, Delaney went from creeping on her tummy to fully crawling. She can make it from one corner of the living room to the other in no time at all! If she caught on this fast to crawling, I'm a little scared at how fast she might pick up walking! The older two are getting pretty good at making sure all the small pieces of things are picked up! I get to walk into her room and see this most mornings! She loves her basket of toys - now that she can maneuver around, we have to spread them out a little farther.

Another MCC Sale has come and gone, and I'm happy to report that we made the trek out to Hutch once again! It was a lot of work this year with 3 kids to take care of (lots of trips to the bathroom, one pair of underwear thrown away, money to keep track of, a balloon to keep track of, etc.), but we did it, and I'm so glad we did. The kids enjoyed the activities and spending their MCC Bucks at the Kids' Corner. I found 3 geraniums at "Plants and Things," And, of course, the long line at Feeding the Multitude was worth it once again! What a fun way to help others! Settling in for a one-hour drive. Would you believe this was the longest trip Delaney has been on?? Shocking, I know! Cambry's foot attire -- there was no changing her mind! This is about half the line for Feeding the Multitude -- despite it being long, we only waited about 15 minutes! Delaney's first taste of verenika. Despite this funny face, she ate about half of one all by herself! How ...

After our kids were ready for church, I realized they were all in blue! On Saturday, Chelan and his dad started planting corn. Delaney and Cambry enjoyed some playtime with dad while waiting for the fertilizer tank to fill up. Gotta love the drool! If you make this picture bigger, Delaney's pretty blue eyes really "pop"!

Have you ever come out of the doctor's office in the late afternoon, gotten to your car, and discovered a flat tire? A very flat tire? That's what happened to me today -- an unexpected change of plans. If you know me very well, you know that a change of plans is not my favorite thing -- especially with a 7 year old an 8 month old baby in tow. This could have turned out badly, but I think I said enough quick little prayers that we made it through very well! Here are a few things that happened, some positives: 1. There were nice receptionists at the Wichita Clinic-Bethel to help me with phone numbers and to tell me who to call -- no smart phone here! 2. I actually had my cell phone - I don't always carry it with me! 3. I realized that a small tire shop really was a better choice than Wal-Mart -- in service and in hospitality! R-Pro Tire came to the clinic to air up my tire so I could drive it to get fixed (a $45 service fee, but what else was I going to do). I was t...