April in full swing

I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to get rid of all the cute baby outfits I love, including this whale ruffly jumper. Claire has started to tilt her head to the side as if she's trying to be cute and we have fun mimicking her.

My Dad came to visit us for a few days and we had a great time. The first day he was here we rode the water taxi and met Rich for lunch, we went to the library to play (while Dad napped), we played cards, and talked. The next day I actually spent much of the day at the dentist. They had a few cancellations, so I used my built-in-babysitter-Grandpa to make it easier for me to get a cleaning in the morning and some fillings replaced in the afternoon. I felt bad about leaving him when he's only here for 2 days, but really who's going to watch Claire while I'm at the dentist for 4 hours? And, Dad came here to visit his granddaughter too, not just to visit me. The first stretch I was gone I came home to Claire crying in her crib and Dad reading on the couch. I had to recognize that Dad has parented 6 kids and therefore can ignore crying. :) So, before I left again I was sure to turn the monitor on full-blast so he could for sure hear crying. When I came back she was peacefully sleeping on the couch cozied next to my Dad while he read his book. Awww. In between the dental appts. we went to the library for Baby Story Time (and Dad napped again). For dinner I made one of my best recipes of butternut squash enchiladas, which Dad loved. We also went to our last Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class (which everyone should take!) where we had an appetizer/dessert potluck. I was busy making dinner and Dad asked if he could help, so I suggested he make the cake for the potluck. He confessed that he's never made cake before! I said to this 71-yr.-old, "Well, now's a good time to learn!" He easily followed the directions on the box and made a smooth, yummy lemon cake. Like always, it's sad to say good-bye to my Dad because I never know how long it will be until I see him again and I always fear that he'll end up hurt or dead and I won't have another chance to spend time with him. The longest stretch of not seeing him was about 3 years, I think. This time it's going to be 2 years. He and Karen are going on a mission to HONG KONG! What an adventure. They'll both be working with missionaries across Asia making sure they're in good mental health. Bon voyage.

I've been busy visiting a lot with various friends: my lunch group friends and a few dance friends from college. And I've added in some good activities like dance rehearsals and going to the Art Museum with my walking partner - how long has it been since I visited an Art Museum? Too long. And, my bookclub friends. We discussed the book, "These Is My Words" by Nancy E. Turner. Soooooo Gooooood. Whoever is reading this blog should read that book.

I'm directing the choir at church and for Easter Sunday we sang "All Creatures of Our God and King". We sang it the way it was apparently sung when it was written as a call and response sequence. The choir women stood in a line at the front of the chapel and the choir men stood in a line at the back of the chapel. The women started, "All creatures of our God and King", men responded, "Lift up your voice and with us sing". They repeated that melody phrases until they all joined together for the last, "Alleluia! Oh praise Him! Alleluia!" We had the congregation join in with the women and men singing separately. It sounded so nice and I heard from a lot of people afterwards that they found it really interesting or that they really enjoyed it. Mix it up, people! That's what we have to do. Be creative!