Kal-Haven Trail (Bike Hike)

Saturday we packed up our bikes and set out to the Kal-Haven trail. We went with several families from church and spent the afternoon riding our bikes down the trail, and then came back to eat a potluck supper. We were all (well, all but the younger kids...they have so much energy!) very tired and ready to eat after riding for about 3 and half hours.

Me, Sarah and Lydia before we started.

The girls (most anyway)

Dad on the trail. The trail used to be a railroad bed. Now it works great for biking because it is so flat. :)

The kids having fun after they got back from riding. :)

Em and I after our ride. We were very tired. :)

The kids, again having fun with anything they can find.

Lydia and Em after supper

Betsy and Bonnie (notice their matching Inca Cola shirts from Peru)

I loved the sheet we were sitting on so, I took a picture of it. :)

Weekend Happenings

First I'd like to say that sometimes I feel like we actually live on a (very) small farm. With our neighbors cattle behind our house, the chickens, cats and kittens...all we need is a dog and a barn:). The cattle have only been out in this pasture for a few days, but if they are out much longer it will start smelling like a farm around here too.Here are some of the cattle behind our house.

On of our cats (this past winter) scratching on the chicken coop.

Kittens - two weeks old. We have 12 of them.

And some of the chickens.


S'mores Anyone?

Friday evening we grilled some chicken over the fire for supper and then ate around the fire. After we finished we got some marshmallows and roasted those until it started raining and we went inside to eat them.

Ever had peanut butter on your s'more? It is really good!! You must try it next time!

Silver Beach Carousel

Saturday we went to the beach and decided to stop in to see the new (I think it's pretty new anyway) carousel.

Having fun in front of the mirrors. :)

That's us up there, and over there...and everywhere!

Heather and I at the beach.

Looking at the..."thing". I'm not sure what it was.

Heather's lovely blue hat...kind of.

Trillium Season Is Here...

...and every year at this time we take a trip down the railroad bed to see the hundreds of beautiful trilliums. :) And of course this year was no exception, so Mom, Dad and I (Heather was not home) took walk last evening.

(yes, very aware that there is suppose to be a "the" in front of "glory"...oops!)

These are two old pieces of wood that were once apart of the railroad track.

When You See This Picture...

...what is the first word that comes to your mind???

Our Easter

Our Easter holiday started on Thursday evening when we went to church. We had a time of reflecting...on Jesus, and our sin that he gave his life for.

We were a little early so we helped get ready.Heather and Megan were assigned to lighting the candles. Here they are trying to figure out how to start it. I am not sure that we were ever able to get it to start. :)

Lydia and Emily pouring water. I didn't see this before, but Lydia is pouring and smiling at the same time, and I don't think she spilled any. :)

The evening started with prayer and then a small meal of soup and bread.

After we ate Pastor read a few passages of scripture and then we wrote down all (not all of course, because there was not nearly enough room!) our sins on a little red heart that were on the tables. The Baloses sang a song, called "Depth of Mercy" and then while Jimmy continued to play his fiddle, we all lined up and nailed our hearts to the cross.

Easter Lily

While cleaning up afterward Dad called me to get the camera and go outside. I haven't seen too many of these kinds of sunsets.

When we went back to church on Sunday we all noticed the hearts on the cross were no longer a deep crimson red...the were white, washed clean! When some of the little kids looked inside the hearts there was nothing there... :)


Easter Passion Play
On Saturday afternoon we went to Andrews University to see the Passion Play they put on every year. It was our first year, and I really enjoyed it, though we were a little disappointed because we had were not able to go outside because of the rain. We had to watch all the scenes inside. It was still very good and after the play (since it had stopped raining) we were able to go back and look at the market (and get a few samples of fruit and bread).

Jesus in a crowd of children

The last supper

Jesus Christ is Risen!!!

~ The Market ~

Different kinds of beans

Some fruit samples and baskets

Pottery

Cheese, beans and spices

Beautiful trees on the way back to our car.

He Arose!
Death cannot keep his prey - Jesus, my Savior!
He tore the bars away- Jesus, my Lord!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign:
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
- Robert Lowry

Daffodils

We bought these for Easter on the side of the road on our way home from co-op. I couldn't help taking pictures of them. They are beautiful!

"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
-Song of Solomon 2:11-12

I don't know about you, but I was a little confused when I read "the voice of the turtle". So I looked it up and it really means "turtledove".