Hey Sue!

Ch-ching!  Hit the jackpot last Wednesday when we were at the library.  The extremely rare pass to the Field Museum was being checked in just as we were checking out our books.  It remained on the board for about .084 seconds before we grabbed it.  And the librarian said that is about how long it usually remains there before someone grabs it again.  Lucky us that we were in the right place at the right time.  So, Saturday we packed it up and headed downtown for some adventures.   

Completely awesome totem poles.

The fam with Sue!

Heading to Africa

"But Auntie Amy will be scared!"

Hanging out in ancient Egypt.  Waiting to be turned into a mummy.

Trying to move some blocks to build a pyramid.

I thought for a moment that it would be magical to have some sort of padded barrier like this in our house to coral this little girl.  Chris quickly pointed out it would just prompt her to further her skills in climbing.

DRUMS!

Little drummer girl

And little drummer boy.

Bulls fan.

Sitting in a T-Rex foot print. 

Blackhawks fan.

Historic gear from the Kotzebue sound.

Breck resting in the Native American Indian Lodge.

I would say it was a successful trip!

once upon a time...

This morning Breck, Elsa and I jumped in the car, after a lovely breakfast of blueberry pancakes, and headed out to Batavia to visit Grandma Jan (or Great Grandma Jammies as she is known to my kiddos).  We wanted to make sure and get out there as Grandma recently had surgery, but we were very much overdue for a visit anyway.  The kids stole the show at lunch, which we ate in the community dinning at the  retirement community where G Jammies resides.  Elsa toddled around saying hi to everyone in sight and she LOVED being the center of all that attention.

We had lunch and then headed back to Grandma's room for a bit to visit.  We finished up our visit with Breck and I taking turns for a potty break, which is how most visit anywhere ends with a pint-sized boy in tow.  As I reached for the bar of Dove soap to wash my hands, I all of a sudden had a memory of being at my Grandma's apartment in Omaha spring into my mind.  When I was little, she had this small dish of soaps in her bathroom that were shaped like roses.  There they lay in the little dish, pale pastels about the size of a quarter, and as a little girl it was the best to carefully choose one out and work up a sudsy lather.

I haven't thought about those little rose-shaped soaps in years - probably since the last time I used them, which was a long, long time ago.  But for some reason today when I turned on the faucet in my Grandma's bathroom, I was 7 years old again and in her apartment only a few blocks from our house.  Memories are funny like that, aren't they?  The way they sometimes sneak up on you when you least expect it.  And I wasn't even aware that the rose soap was a memory of mine, but there it was.  And I love that.  I love that with a scent, a sound, a song, or even in the way the wind is blowing you can be brought back to a completely different place and time in your life.  Like if I catch even a hint of Bath and Body Work's Country Apple scent, I might as well be walking the squeaky wooden halls of Central High School, headed to my freshman English class.

I suppose the downside of this is that it happens with chapters and moments of our life that we'd rather never relive so clearly.  But today, it was great to be 7 years old again, if only for a moment.

He has risen!

This past weekend we headed up to Michigan to celebrate Easter with Chris' family in the Detroit area.  It was a great little weekend away from life here in Chicago and so great to spend time with family.  I'm still getting used to the fact that now visits to see extended family is no more than a tank of gas, instead of the 15 hours of international travel and thousands of dollars of plane tickets.  It's definitely a great perk of being back in the States. 

And even though we all seem to be fighting some nasty cold, it was a fabulous weekend with many adventures.  We just made sure to always have a lot of Kleenex on hand.

Friday morning we finished up some shopping for the kid's Easter outfits and then in the afternoon we headed to the Detroit Institute of Art which was such a great museum.  Breck loved the the suits of armor and the mummies.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I have no documentation of the visit.

Saturday we kicked the day off dying Easter eggs.

And then in the afternoon we headed to Mayberry (or maybe it's Maybury? Help me out, Detroiters.) State Park

Elsa LOOOOOOOOVES her Uncle Jeff.  Loves him.  Loves him.  Loves him.  Can not get enough of him.  It's very sweet.

They have a farm at the park with lots of animals and they all seemed to love having lots of people around and the attention they got.  Elsa was in heaven.  This girl loves animals.

The horses were HUGE and so sweet.  Look how little my kids are!

Another highlight of the weekend for Elsa was pushing around the umbrella stroller that Grandma Kathy had for her.  I think she spent about 5% of her time riding in it and the other 95% pushing it around.  

Breck was excited about the llamas.  Felt like being in Quito again.

Breck checking out the baby yaks.

I think the farm looks good on this boy.

Kiddos with Grandma Kathy

After the farm, we headed over to one of the many playgrounds.  

Easter Morning!

"HAPPY EASTER!!  HE HAS RISEN!!"

Now, you would think I would have learned my lesson after trying to take pictures of the kids at Christmas all dressed up.  But, apparently I did not.  I must remember to schedule in time for photos BEFORE church.  Because after church I nearly always have grumpy, hungry, uncooperative, fighting children.  My dreams of a long and lovely photo shoot are boiled down to about 5 minutes of chaos.  But, they were looking might cute!

Love this one of the kids snuggling with Uncle Jeff :)

This Lenten and Easter season has been so meaningful to me this year.  Perhaps because the past few years we have been in Ecuador where the evangelical church does not follow closely the liturgical calendar.  Or perhaps I am just in a different place in my life now and see more of what Christ is trying to teach me.  Whatever the reason, I am blown away by this God that walks beside us in our suffering and calls us out of death and into life.  

Seminarian Appreciation Day

A little while ago as I was leaving out the front door, Breck came to give me a hug.  As we were hugging he said, "Thanks Dad for working hard for us."

Now this has of course made me tear up. Trying not to be sappy, I complained about allergies or how a piece of fuzz must have flown into my eye or something.  Well, I thanked him for his appreciation and being a wonderful son and all that other love stuff.  His words have not left me though and it has made me ponder.  There are two truths that came out of that statement.

One is, I never thanked my parents enough for the work that they have done, and continue to do, to support  me.  Thanks Mom and Dad.  As a kid one does not understand economics and work or grad school.  I do not think I understand as an adult economics and grad school, but that is for another blog.  But just the recognition by Breck that what I was doing is not just for me, but for them.

This leads to the second point.  Seminary involves the whole family.  Ministry and work, any vocation, involves the whole family.  We each retain our particularities and individual personalities, gifts, hopes and dreams.  The Hoskins family is not some unidentifiable blob all mashed together.  My studies and my work, however, are interconnected with Jenny, Breck, and Elsa.  Jenny's work allows me to study full time, along with support from many others.  So I am studying and working hard for us.  But they are working hard for me as well.  And I appreciate that.  This is not my thing.  First it is God's and the Church (you knew that was coming...I am in seminary.)  Second, it is a family affair and I am blessed enough to have a family that is so patient and understanding.  A call to any vocation is a call on the entire family.  They all have had to make sacrifices.  Jenny has to constantly hear about all the lectures and books that make me excited.  That's a sacrifice.  Breck and Elsa have only 2 hours some nights to tackle and punch me.  So we have all been asked to be a part of this time of study and it has been great.

THANKS MOM AND DAD.  THANKS JENNY, BRECK, & ELSA.  AND THANKS EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED US ALONG OUR JOURNEY...that kind of felt like an acceptance speech, I have been assured there are no trophies at graduation.

like weeds

My kids are growing up so fast!

Seriously, it is insane to think that we are going to have a four year old in just a little over a month.

Ever creative and gifted Grandpa Kurt just sent us this great gift that he made for the kids.  It's a growth chart for them he made to look like a ruler.  And the best part is, we can easily take it with us when we have to move.

get down

Just a Sunday afternoon grooving to some beats I heard at Amy's Zumba class