Cake Pop Fun

Hmmmm....I take that back.  More like "Cake Pop Mess".  hehe   The kids and I stuck our hands in and made cake pops about 4 weeks ago when we were visiting my grandmother and aunt.  The kids absolutely loved them!  They could have eaten them all in one sitting.

We tried letting the kids help,

 

but it wasn't long before Sammy decided it was better to take out huge chunks and eat it instead of crumble it. :)

 
After a few times of my balls falling into the chocolate when I went to dip them, I decided to dip the sticks in the chocolate, into my cake balls then let them sit in the fridge for a little while until the chocolate hardened in the cake pop.

 

 Makes me want to do some more!

While Lydia was gone with daddy one morning {she called it a date ;)}, Anna blew bubbles with my grandmother.

Since we were there for a conference {everyone was SO sweet!} and we were all sick, we didn't get to spend a lot of time with them, but we will be back!

 WE MISS YOU MAMA!  SEE YOU IN JUNE!!!

You Have Arrived!

AHHH!  That has become one of our favorite things to hear...when our gps finally announces our arrival.  The kids always excitedly ask "Is this our new home?" hehe.  You can tell they are MK's. ;)

Life in the Curtis van has been CrAzY!  I've barely had time to get the laundry done between conferences, much less make a post, but I thought I'd give you a quick update on how we're doing.

After my last post, we drove down to Georgia for a conference.  The normally long ride was made even more interesting as everyone was getting sick.  The Lord brought to my mind this sweet missionary wife and her furlough travels/sicknesses and all I can say is God really gave her a lot of grace!

We are still having fun, though.  We take LOTS of time to "smell" the flowers along the way.

They enjoyed helping put John's and Romans together at our church's scripture work day...

...but it wasn't long before they were off playing.  If you ask Anna how many best friends she has, she'll tell you "a LOT." 

After trying a few things, I think we've found a way of packing that works for us.  Thanks for all of your suggestions!  We have a shoe bag, a Bible bag and a diaper bag.  Then 2 LARGE duffle bags - one for the boys and one for the girls.  In them, I have mesh wash bags which hold/separate all of our undergarments.  Since our kids are little and we end up carrying everything, fewer the bags - the better.  We also have a "cooler" bag between the seats with snacks.

Please continue to pray for us as we travel.  Pray also that we may go back to the country we love and are called to.  It seems like missionaries in Ukraine are going through so much right now.  This sweet and dear missionary family has recently had their visas denied.  We also just found out that the Hudson family, missionaries to Kiev Ukraine who came back to the states because of visa troubles, won't be returning this week as planned because Mrs. Catherine Hudson has stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, which has moved to her liver.  My heart aches for this family and I ask that you keep them in your prayers.

Like the Duggars

{The kids sitting with our Pastor}  

That's what they said about us at the bank.  Eric's response?   "Not yet.  Give us a few more years." 

My Dolls

Everyone in Ukraine says that I just like playing dress-up with my real-life dolls. :)

These are about 2 weeks old and Samuel is probably at least 2 lbs heavier, but I promised Grammy Curtis that I would post them.  Don't you just LOVE the little suit?  Thank you, Mimi for the money!

 

We have been in the car so much traveling that I haven't had much time for posting.  Anna told me the other day on our way back from NC, "Mama, this seat is like a prison."  :)

Writing Letters on the Road

Before we started furlough, I desperately wanted to find some way to keep all of my letters and thanks you's organized.  For me, a pretty organizer is a big motivator.  When we were in Maine, Eric's mom showed me her birthday card organizer and I thought it would be the perfect thing to help me keep up with letters and thank you's.

It has a nice pocket in front to hold my stationary (I LOVE pretty stationary!), stamps and pens.

And pockets for each month to hold letters I need to respond to, letters to mail out and a list of thank you's to write.

We've been on the road SO much that it has been a little harder to keep up, but I'm not too far behind...yet.

Furlough ~Cousins~

Traveling down from Maine on our way to Virginia, we stopped in Conneticut to meet with my brother's sweet {adorable} family.  We had SO much fun!  (Anna didn't want to leave!)

{Singing Jesus Loves Me}

Furlough ~Family~

Ask any missionary what the best part of furlough is (along with Pizza Hut, etc.) and they will probably say, spending time with family.

 {Daniel with great-grammy Grover.  Daniel was born in her basement-apartment.}

Since we went to Ukraine in 2007, this is the first time that the grandparents have really gotten to spend time with the kids.

 The kids are loving it too.  I am so glad that they will be able to have some memories with their grandparents and great grandparents.

 {Sammy with my Mimi.}

They get to have fun with the 3 older ones, then when they are tired, cuddle baby Daniel.

We cherish every moment we had with the grandparents in Maine and cherishing every moment with our sweet growing {fastly} baby boy.

 {From Great-grammy Grover's kitchen window.  Maine}

We have left the beautiful state of Maine and have started traveling {with 4 -4-under!!}.  Can't wait to see my family in June!