It's May! Yay!

Andy and I were able to get away last week for a pastor-and-spouse retreat.  The setting was in Brown County Indiana - not too far from home, but when you get there you feel far away.

We drove up a long, windy road through some woods. . .


. . . and arrived at this place.  Our home for the week!

Most retreats and conferences that I've been to either involve packing a sleeping bag because you're at a camp or spending days on end inside of a hotel.  This was completely different.


This is the entryway once you walk inside the house.


The powder room sink!


A pretty grand living room that overlooks the trees and a pond.


The dining room where we literally feasted every day.


Another angle of the living room that shows the upper loft sitting area.  There are two bedroom suites connected to the loft.  Five total in the house.


Andy and I were in the lower of the three levels.


The lighting was bad when I took these photos; but it was a super nice area.


The view from the patio off of our room.


There was us and four other couples on this retreat.  We had a wonderful time relaxing, reading, and connecting with these other ministry families.  This week was a huge blessing for us.

And one of the people who made this week possible was my mom.  She came out to take care of the kids all week.  I was able to completely relax because I knew they were in great hands.


My dad drove down to drop my mom off with us and we spent the weekend together.  Graydon is becoming interested in being a builder.  We finally got him some "materials" and Grandpa is helping him build.


Our retreat ended on Friday.  We left a little early because we didn't want to miss Graydon's kindergarten play.  His role was The Gingerbread Man!


Right before the plays, Graydon's teacher asked me to video tape.  I don't have any footage yet, but when I do I'll put it on the blog.  It was super cute.


Imagine Graydon saying "Run, run as fast as you can.  You can't catch me - I'm the Gingerbread Man!"


Getting chased!


We visited another farm that evening where some baby chicks had just arrived.


We saw the big chickens too and were given some fresh eggs to take home.  (We scrambled some up the next morning).


Graydon and Curtis were playing on dirt hills.  Graydon jumped down and landed in the mud.  Both shoes ended up looking like this!


At a certain time of day when the sun is shining on the farm equipment, it makes a cross.


The next morning, the boys had their first t-ball game!  Grandma and Grandpa were able to join us to root them on!

Here they are in the dugout.




I think he looks like he's about to throw a pitch!




Strike!




Run!


Each time Graydon went up to bat, he was able to hit the ball without the tee!


He reached just out of reach of my camera.


He was super excited because he hit it on the first try that time!


Our two t-ball players.


Curtis's preschool class had a big day with two fieldtrips!  First to the fire department.


Then to the police station.




And last but definitely not least. . .

We have two new members of the Kilps Family!  Meet Oscar and Olaf, Bella's Lionhead Rabbits.  Bella joined 4-H this year and wanted to focus on rabbits.  She is already doing an excellent job in caring for them.    


This is Oscar.  Both rabbits look exactly alike to me and are hard to tell apart, but Oscar is a bit more outgoing and allows you to hold him/her (we still don't know!) much easier.


Lots of excitement in our house!