Zoie turns 4!!!

And I ALREADY LOVE that age on her best!! She's the epidemy of 4!! Smart, talks hilariously CUTE! SUPER HELPFUL!!! A ray of sunshine, LOVEABLE, ADORABLE, and drives you crazy if she's out of sorts. Zoie is WONDERFUL!!! I love her! And I know she loves me too - but only far after Daddy, whom she still all out loves, needs, ADORES! I cannot blame her ;). We were so lucky to celebrate with her cousin Maylee and Grandpa and Grandma C. before they headed for home!!! Zoie also loved her little gift from Mrs. Cwockett, with whom she has a darling friendship. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOIE!!!

Memorial Day Weekend!!!

What a Wonderful Blessing for us to have Mom and Dad Cooper, Maxwells, Laws, and the jr. Cooper family all with us on Memorial Day weekend! Who would have thought a few years ago we'd have most the family in PA for a casual, fun weekend together? Wonder of wonders! I'd like to thank all of those people I love for making it such a memorable weekend! We had a beautiful time visiting the barn and new home. Mike's & guys worked on the skid steer! Like the big version of garden we showed in early spring? It's growing!!! We loved playing in the yard, laughing on the porch, eating Mom's amazing food, watching the children play piano and sing, planning for the landscaping and most of all, just being together! Thanks everybody! Love You!

Hurray for Spenc & Steph!!!

How we RELISHED having my dear brother and his wonderful wife, Stephanie, along with their precious Maylee & Hope here with us for 6 weeks!!! We feel immensely blessed to have had such an opportunity. Spencer built us a lasting and beautiful monument to remember him by at the new house; an amazingly beautiful rock wall guiding one through the forest and onto a french garden as a welcome to our new home. The green grass we managed to get in with Spencer looks fantastic (more to come!) and the ebb & flow of the garden beds he created speaks peace to the whole area. We LOVE it Spenc!!! Can't wait to place the fountain in the middle and finish it up for you and Steph to visit us again soon and see it completed! Here are some fun pics of our visit with Stephanie and the little girls to Reptile Land. Love you guys!

Goodbye to our Beloved Killpacks!

Oh we will miss you!!! One year ago (almost!) we were lucky enough to have the best of friends move in a few blocks away, Kimberly and Aaron Killpack, family practice residents. Their little boys, Joseph and Sammy robbed our hearts, and we've LOVED having them near this year. Kimberly's a wonderful confidant; I will miss seeing you walking to Cochran and talking together! Joseph is the funnest of playmates for the 3 little girls. Emily and Anna had a great experience babysitting Sammy and Joseph on parent's datenights. Aaron was an immediate friend to Mike. We'll count ourselves blessed to have been with the Killpack's and wish them the greatest of adventures as they move on to greener pastures! Love you guys!

Way to Go Kate!!!

We are all SO PROUD and IMPRESSED with Kate's great accomplishment this spring!! She prepared for and ran her first 5K!!!! What an achievement for a girl just turned 9!!! Way to go, Katey! (pictured with "girls on the run" front right. youngest runner - she did GREAT!)

An awful fall this spring!

Poor Anna took a terrible fall from a high bar she was sitting on at Memorial Park after the AMAZING SERVICE project with Mormon Helping Hands last month. (Sitting mind you! She jumps on the trampoline, plays soccer, rides horses, runs track and then breaks her back falling from sitting!) It was a very high sit - and Emily kept saying "ANYONE, even a boy would have cried Mom!" but Anna is a strong-willed girl and would NOT cry, though she could not breath either for a minute, because her friends were all around her. Instead she got up and tried to play tag (every step was excruciating she told us later). Because of this we thought she was merely badly bruised and continued on with the weekend and week! But Anna could not bend, hardly walk down stairs, and most alarming - laugh! (Anna is ALWAYS laughing and singing - it hurt so bad she begged everyone not to make her laugh). We finally clued in and took her for xrays Wednesday morning at Mike's office. Three broken vertebrae! O Anna, how did you ever survive? (Going to school carrying a 20 lb. book bag!) We were worried about surgery, but after a cat-scan found that her spinal cord was un-compromised and she would simply be wearing a brace for eight weeks (it's even a cute little white one!). Anna kept her smile on so well, we could not know how badly she was hurt.

Thank you so very, very much to those of you who prayed for her. I feel it made all the difference. She's managed this whole injury very well, and has experienced minimal pain since the first week. SO very grateful she is OK.

Love and Thanks! Hoffmans

Thank you so very much

2 cute!

I just had to share: Esther's favorite gift this year was her science kit with all the parts of the body one can pull out, exam, operate on. Emily and Anna's favorites were there new coordinating swim suits. Quite a difference between childhood and teenagehood, yes? Shocking for me to look down from the organ bench when I was filling in for Bro. Haggardy one Sunday and see our 4 independent, older children so competently caring for our 4 younger children and realizing a whole new stage of life for us - full fledged teenagers! Isaac cannot WAIT to start driving this spring (age 16 for permit in PA) and worse yet, DATING! Emily and Anna are glad they will be included in the regional dances now and have just a few too many boy followers ;)- FRIENDS they tell me! - they are very good at being friends. I'm appreciating Esther's age six more than ever.

Blessed to the Brim by these three WONDERFUL GIRLS!!!

Well, as you well know, it is birthday season for the Hoffmans. From March to May we celebrate 6 of our daughters birthdays, 3 on May 2 & 3rd! (It is so great to remember what a joy it was to bring Esther home for Emily and Anna's birthdays and to have all three girls in white that spring for blessing/baptism days.) We were all rejoicing as we partied at the new house (not moved in yet) with church friends for Emily, Anna, and their friend Phoebe born the same week. The next night, Sunday, we celebrated again with newly arrived (to stay for 6 weeks!) SPENC and STEPH, MAYLEE and HOPE!!!! How lucky are we?!!!

"Bess Duh Baby Unnies"

Yes, Baby Bunnies arrived at our barn a couple months ago! I've been amazed at what a wonder, delight and joy it's been to watch the miracle of life in a bundle so small and helpless. The mother begins to pull out her fur (LOTS of fur) and turns the old, dirty rabbit cage into a downy soft, angel white wonder world for her brood. When they arrive they are pink and hairless, look like an overgrown mouse and completely fragile. They are completely covered by the mother's fur so you could go a few days not knowing they are in there. We loved watching every stage of development, a little fur - you could see what color they'd be, the funniest stage when they are all piled in the nest but spastically flip around not knowing how to jump but having the urge to do so. Next delight is the first time they venture out of the nest and dark den into the world outside - so funny to see them have their individualized way of trying to hop. Then just a couple weeks later they go through the height of their CUTENESS - never seen anything cuter, except humans of course ;).
The girls have LOVED their baby bunnies to bits! We brought two of them here to the house and they've been best buddies to the children this last month. EVERY blessing on the food, EVERY family prayer two year old Clara leans over to the one praying and whispers "bess duh baby unnies"!! The baby unnies have been a sweet blessing to us this spring.

Funnest Family Visit!

All the plays this spring allowed us time together with our beloved Maxwells!!! Both of our schedules made driving 3 hours straight, seeing the play of cousins & driving 3 hours back the usual; but one of the days(plays) we snuck in time at the barn. It was SO FUN! Sharing new baby bunnies and sunshine, green spring and fresh "barn" air ;). The Maxwells took home their "first REAL pet!": baby bunnies!!! Here they are with Daisy and Buddy!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mike's been desperately wanting a garden since we lived here - each spring we've found ourselves too busy growing other "gardens" - "better ones!" I remind him. But we believe in planting a garden and we finally did it this year! Thanks to a couple of family home evenings focusing on the garden and my brother Spencer who came out to prepare the area, put the boxes together, mix the soil and help collect plants!! We enjoyed our evenings working on it as much as ever! (now for the maintenance this summer, eh?) Wish i had a picture of the boxes, they are gorgeous up behind the fence at the barn, well protected from deer and bunnies too! But these pics are of the humble and happy beginnings of our garden this spring. Happy gardening to all of you!

A Very Lucky Mother

The Luckiest I'd dare say - o yes - we call it BLESSED! Whether or not we deserve such blessings!! I felt the very most blessed to be surrounded on Saturday and Sunday by many we love, MOST especially our MOTHERS!! We visited Kennett to see Marisa's amazing acting and found Mom C. there of course - we LOVE to be near her, even if for only a day! Then we had the honor of Mom H. for dinner on Sunday!- O, the wonderful little stories she shared about our "other mothers", Grandma Kingsford and Grandma Hoffman and Voss. Special to have Stephanie, new mother to Hope, here with us too! So grateful for these and the many other mothers and grandmothers that influence us so greatly; the ones on our Family Trees and in our Friendship Circles. What a Blessing you all are to me and my family!!!!

My mother's day was wonderful, beginning with my children making me the MOST SCRUMPTIOUS breakfast in bed (all on their own) and, most especially joyful, delivering it to me while singing! They sounded better than the Von Trapps early in the morning! It was sooo beautiful! A special treat was getting ready for and going to church WITH Mike. (We made it early that way!) More singing from the Primary children (Zoie, Esther, Kate, and Mikela) at church and beautiful, bright, handmade gifts from them as well! Mike's remarks on motherhood meant so much. A nap, a meal made by the men, and presents to boot!! I could not have had a better day or weekend.

I hope each of you very special women that spend your heart hours and days loving, serving, and nurturing will be blessed with wonderful "Mother's Days" all year as you see the fruits of your labors grow!!

Sincerely,

The Mom

"Play"ing is SO MUCH WORK!!!

But all that work is finally paying off! Last weekend we SO ENJOYED Emily and Anna's "Honk!" production at Curtin Middle school. It was a delightful, FUN production. Emily made a DARLING DUCKLING and Anna was a GORGEOUSLY GRACEFUL QUEEN SWAN! They were WONDERFUL!!! ALONG with the rest of the cast! A very fun and clever play, SO well done!! Even the littlest girls stayed interested (more like glued) both nights! Thanks to our friends who came and supported Emily and Anna in the fun!!

Last night was opening night for Isaac's high school production of "Sound of Music". I must admit I was AMAZED at the professional EXCELLENCE of EVERYTHING from the expert musician's in the live orchestra to the awesome stage set to the GREAT acting and beautiful singing of ALL the students!!! It was REALLY, REALLY GOOD!!! (And I would say that just as amazed if I wasn't the mother! :)) Of course, Isaac was PHENOMENAL!!!! FANTASATIC!!! WONDERFUL!!! THE BEST!!!! And Maria's acting was really, really WONDERFUL - they made a perfect combination on stage (one would never know Maria was a senior and Isaac a freshman!) so the play really drew us in!!!

Emily and Anna and Mikela and Katey and Esther and Zoie were all SOOOOO PROUD of their brother!!!! (Clara just said, "Icic" pointing on stage and proceeded to be a challenge for Mom to keep busy and quiet!) Emily even FORGOT that sharp looking, grown up, buff, strong, in-control, righteous Captain on stage was her brother and had to proclaim, just like the fanatical, overreacting teenager girls in front of us "I'm in love!" THAT made us smile nearly as much as seeing seven sisters attack their brother with hugs and squeals of delight after the play. A very fun night of pay off. We were especially glad Grandpa and Grandma Hoffman could come last night and that there are TWO MORE NIGHTS TO GO and lots more family and friends coming!!!!

Great rewards for the hard work and sacrifice of so many in the past few months.

Hoppy Easter!

One of my favorite parts of Easter this year (there were many!) was the GREATEST Easter egg hunt!!!! Our friend Kimberly put it together with a few families nearby. We went to the nearby park on a quiet, absolutely gorgeous Sat. morning before Easter. The little children hit the playground while the teenagers hit the park-grounds and started hiding eggs. It was such a glorious morning filled with fresh green life and sunshine we couldn't help but feel giddy. Watching the little ones searching ecstatically for well hidden eggs only added to that! No pushing, shoving, rushing, panic - only plenty of space, plenty of eggs, all hidden just challengingly enough to make the hunt last for MORE than 10 minutes even! It was wonderful! Thanks again to our wonderful friends who were there and made it sooo fun! It brought back great memories of 950 S. Easter hunts. LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!