Starling's Birthday, Easter, Etc.

Our little Starling bird turned five at the end of March. FIVE!

(Birthday postcard from Goldie.)

And I know. I know. Everyone arriving at this point with their youngest child says, "How did my baby grow up?" or "How can it be that I don't really have any toddlers anymore?" But really! Mike and I have been married for 24 years. For all of my life it seems. And all of that time we have been: holding babies, and chasing toddlers, and monitoring signs of labor as due dates approached, and wrestling in prayer over decisions regarding having more children. And it seemed to come with a really flood-like intensity in my last years of childbearing when there seemed to be heaven pressing on me to get four more babies earthside in a very condensed span of time. So I still really don't quite believe our children, in one great mass, have shifted upwards in age leaving ... no babies whatsoever!

Although ... we still all think Starling is a baby, and she pretty much gets carried everywhere she goes, so perhaps I haven't really yet felt the strangeness of no babies around.

But, for all of that. She is in fact five. (And whether she will consent to wear different clothing, have her hair done, or speak to anyone in her upcoming transition to kindergarten ... remains to be seen.)

(She is obsessed with volcanoes. Jesse designed and 3d printed her one that you can squish play-doh out of. And Daisy gave her this plaster one that she helped her make and create a lava flow out of baking soda, etc. with.)

The weekend after her birthday was Easter weekend. Abe and Daisy didn't want to drive all the way home for both Easter weekend and Conference weekend, but they each had different feelings about which weekend was most a shame to miss, so we got Daisy for Easter and Abe for conference. Here are a few pics from Easter:

(Mike holding Star's basket for her while Daisy helps her find treats to put in it.)

And, of course, we didn't get Goldie for any Easter or any conference. But we did get a nice text from a couple having dinner with her around that time! And we are still so grateful to get to talk to her on p-days! She's almost halfway through her mission!

In other end of March news:

Mike and the kids finished the goat pen and picked up Jesse and Ander's goats. (Samwise and Grover.)

Abe and Jesse completely took apart Abe's computer to fix some tiny part. Brave boys. It made me a bit terrified for Abe seeing it like this, but they pressed on.

And Penny went to Spring Fling.