Merry Christmas!

We pray that you will feel the love and peace that comes only from Christ our Lord this blessed Christmas! Love, The Rice Family

Projects

I cannot believe Spring Break is almost over. Why is it that lazy days seem to go by so quickly and school days can drag on? Today was project day at our house. We got a several miscellaneous projects done or part way done.

--I cleaned out the flower beds. Several things I purchased at Stone Creek Nursery on clearance in the fall are coming up. So I am very excited. I also ordered a few things from Michigan Bulb Company. They will be here in mid-April. I definitely do not have a green thumb but I am trying my best.

--Randy dug up several shrubs for his mom. She said she could do it herself and I don't doubt that, but in the end we both agreed it was much more enjoyable watching Randy do it. He was glad to help.

--Alli has been asking us to paint her night stand/bookshelf in her bedroom. We finally got around to it today. She did most of it herself with some help from Mom.It looks great and will look much better in her room now. (It used to be dark brown).

--In the background, you can also see some dresser drawers. Some friends of ours gave us a dresser, so Randy spent some time sanding it. He only got 2 drawers done before he ran out of sandpaper though. We didn't feel like making a trip to town to get more, so it will have to wait. I did get those 2 drawers primed and eventually it will be Crimson Red (KU) and will go in E's room.

--All of these tools in the driveway gave E the itch. So, him and his buddy, Parker decided to build something. The end product...a birdhouse! They used scrap wood and worked very hard most of the afternoon. Here are some pics of them painting it. Once it is completely dry and up in our backyard, I will take some more.

Bethany and Avery spent the day outside with us as well. They rode bikes, did cartwheels and somersaults, dug in the dirt and of course....each of them got to paint their own board. Avery's leg must look a lot like a piece of wood because there was more paint on that than anywhere else.

It feels like summer to us. Slight sunburns (better get back into the sunscreen habit). Lemonade. Bike rides. Water balloons. Trips to Pack Park. What fun! I say we just skip Spring. Summer here we come.

Winter Jam 2009

Yesterday afternoon/evening, I took the youth to the Winter Jam 2009 concert in Wichita. It was 100% amazing! We loved it. We left McPherson at 2:30 and met up with the Moundridge youth group and traveled together. We got home just before 11:30 last night. The weather here has been unbelievably warm, up until 2 days ago. We had to stand out in the cold in line for over an hour. Alli took this pic of Lori and I while we were waiting. Don't we look great?



I was thankful to have a little time to take Cell Phone 101 from Lindsey. Now I know how to take pics with my phone.

The wait in the cold was well worth it.....
We got to see pureNRG, Francesca Battistelli, Stephanie Smith, Speaker Tony Nolan, NewSong, Brandon Heath and tobyMac. tobyMac was definitely the fan favorite. He was major high energy..bouncing off of trampolines, crowd surfing and climbing clear to the top of the stage. It was a fantastic concert. Unfortunately, none of my pics from inside turned out, but maybe someone will send me some.

Ethan loved it, but got a little freaked out by the crowd getting in. At one point, he told me he couldn't breathe. I was feeling the same way, so I wasn't much help. Alli had a fever all day Friday, but claimed to be "fine" yesterday. She popped a few motrin during the concert and put a smile on her face, but looked miserable by the time we got home. As you can guess, she was not "fine." She's home with a 102.3 temp today. But, even she says it was worth it!