Flowers

Nana and Papa's

On Saturday we went over to Nana and Papa's house for dinner. Caleb enjoyed playing outside with the rocks and water.

This is Caleb saying "cheese" for the picture.

Swinging at the park.

This is like a big "light bright" board.

Today we spent the morning at the DuPage Children's Museum. All the kids loved it and fell asleep in the car on the way home.

The weather in Chicago has been wonderful so we took a trip the the Lincoln Park Zoo. Erin, Kira, Jenna, me, Caleb and Olivia. I realized there are no pictures of Erin and I.

This is in the barn. You hide vegetables in the "dirt" and then dig for them. We played here for a long time.

Hugs and Kisses

After naps we played outside at my parents house.

Caleb loved playing with all the bigger kids.

Erin, Kira and Jenna came in for a weekend visit. We were hoping to surprise Brooke at her wedding shower...but she is much too smart for us!

A proud grandma.

Caleb and Jenna making cards for Brooke and Mike.

Mike and Brooke and all their presents.

The vote is in...and it's UNANIMOUS!

The new pastor and his family.

I am a proud wife, to say the least! As many of you know, Erik will be graduating from North Park Seminary this May. It has been a long four years of balancing work, school and family. In January we started "the call process", which basically is a search for the perfect position for Erik. We interviewed with the superintendents in January and the phone calls started coming. It was hard to focus on anything else at that point. What place did God have in store for us? Would we be moving across the country? Would Erik be working at a church or a camp? So many unknowns, but God had a plan and soon enough it all became clear.

Erik was called by the search committee at Winnetka Covenant Church to see if he was interested in interviewing for their Youth Pastor position. He met with them twice and after the second interview received a phone call asking if he would accept their invitation to candidate. This basically meant that they were only interested in Erik and by accepting, Erik was only interested in them. No more interviews, just preparation for the "candidating weekend."

This past week was a busy one. Erik lead worship at the Wednesday night gathering and met with the Junior High students to share a little about himself. Saturday night was a church potluck followed by a question and answer time. Erik gave a 10 minute talk about his story, his experience and his vision for Winnetka Covenant and then the floor was open for questions. He did very well. Good questions, no surprises..."What is your youth ministry philosophy?" "How do you think things are different for students from when you were in High School?" I sat in the front row, so proud of my husband - so composed, so confident and so articulate. Then I was asked to share about myself. For those of you who know me, public speaking scares me to death, but I did it. I figure, I know who I am so I can easily share that! I was glad the congregation was able to get to know me a little better as well.

Now to Sunday: Erik gave the sermon and helped plan the service with the other pastors. I wish I took a video or something - he was amazing. (He probably shouldn't have done so well the first time...now they will always expect that from him!) I know that I shouldn't be surprised; he's been working hard in seminary for four years! I sat in the congregation in awe of my best friend and my husband, who's now becoming a pastor. God gave Erik a peace of mind and a clear message to share with the church. He looked so comfortable and natural behind the pulpit. After the service we headed into the gym for lunch. I went to get Caleb and when I came back to hug Erik there was a long line of people waiting to greet him and thank him for a job well done. We have felt so comfortable at Winnetka Covenant since we started attending back in August. People already know our family, but it was a chance for them to see Erik as a pastor. After the lunch we headed home and the members joined in the sanctuary to vote on calling Erik to serve as a pastor. Later that afternoon, we got a call from the chair of the church along with the whole search committee. With a loud cheer, they informed us that it was a unanimous vote! What a great way to begin a new career; knowing the the entire church is supporting us and excited for many more years together.

We are so thankful for God's timing and plan for our lives. We are excited to be staying close to family and friends and the wonderful community at Winnetka Covenant. Erik will begin work on June 1, my sister gets married on June 8, baby number 2 is due on June 25 and we need to be out of our seminary apartment by June 30. We continue to pray for God's direction and timing as all of those things together can seem overwhelming. Thank you for your prayers for us, we have truly felt them!

A Museum Trip with the Rills

Today we went to the Kohl's Children's Museum with the Rills. This is the only picture I have of Caleb with any of the Rill kids! Olivia was such a good helper with Caleb.

Here is Caleb feeding the dog at the pretend Vet. I guess he thought he was really hungry!

And of course...we spent some quality time in the drum room. Look at this set-up! Caleb could not get enough. Anyone have any of these laying around that they want to get rid of?

HAPPY EASTER!

This morning we went to church for a swedish pancake breakfast.

We ate lunch with my mom's side of the family at my grandparents house. This was the first time we all got together at their house since they have been back home. It was a great day with family.

After lunch the kids had a "candy hunt". The littler kids got a head start. Caleb loved it, but once the candy was gone he started to pick up pine cones, rocks and trash!

All the kids showing off their candy.

My mom had an Easter basket for Caleb, so we went over there to open that...a simple Easter basket turned into a lot of fun!

The basket first became a hat...

...then a drum. OK, so Caleb sat down and started drumming and every once in a while his hands would go up to the side and he would make a noise. We had no clue what he was doing. Then, we realized he was making a crashing sound like the cymbals on a drum kit (see video). That is why you see a hanging pot lid in this picture. My dad whipped this up and Caleb just went to town!

Erik loves this picture, he thinks he looks like a real drummer!

More drumming videos!

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In this first video you can hear the sound he made for the cymbals. In the second video my dad is holding the cymbal for Caleb.

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On Saturday Caleb and I went over to my parents house to help assemble Brooke and Mike's wedding invitations. I wish I had a picture of the final product...so cool! Caleb got a hold of a blue marker and decided to eat it and rub it on his hands and clothes. I thought I would have a blue boy for Easter, but the bath cleaned it all up.

Photo Shoot

Caleb, Elsa, Sanne & Gwen

Kisses!

This afternoon we got together with the Jon, Ali, Nathan, Barbara, Cam, Linnea and all the kids for a "Good Friday Brunch" at Cam and Linnea's. It was a last minute idea that I think should now be a new tradition. It was great to sit down for a nice meal with good friends. Of course we had to get some pictures of all the kids together. I thought they did pretty well. (We were joking about who would post the pictures first...did I win?)