After Kathleen returned to Denver, we headed to our Missional Team Leaders conference in Williamstown, MA. This is a conference for all the local leaders of teams in the Northeast, and there is childcare for our little ones. The girls did great in childcare (for most of the conference). Williamstown is home to Williams College and the Haystack Prayer Movement.

There was one afternoon of organized fun activities during the conference. Most of the families went to a Shaker Farm. Samantha once again was drawn to milking a cow.

We visited the farm during baby animal days. So we got to see lots of brand new animals and their mamas! These sheep were probably the "newest" of the babies we saw.
yep, we could even get in the pens with some of the animals!



Anna Kate snapped these pictures all on her own one day! William has been smiling for a few weeks now, and this week he is starting to giggle! He is trying to "coo" - though most of the time his mouth moves and sounds only come out some of the time (so cute!). He continues to be what I would call an easy baby: he is sleeping well - at night especially; he loves to be held; he really only fusses or cries when he's hungry or has an upset tummy.

At his two-month check-up, he weighed 12 lbs 10 oz and measured 23 3/4 inches! Yay! He's doing great!
Samantha continues to love Will - "My baby"

Saratoga Children's Museum

While Grandma Sheehan was here, we enjoyed the Saratoga Children's Museum - our first visit ever! It is a "museum" dedicated to imaginative play, so each room of this old house is recreated into something - an attic home, a vet's office, a store, a restaurant, etc.
Here is Lucy in the "attic" washing cloths with an old-fashioned washboard!

Anna Kate in the attic at the sink and stove
Samantha in the diner
Samantha and Grandma were served many meals at this table in the diner!
The girls enjoyed this fire truck!
The grocery store
The vet's office was a big hit!
Samantha decided the kennels were a perfect fit for her!
Back in the attic!

Easter eggs

Samantha chose her own shoes for going outside on this morning. A little bit of a fashion statement of her own: rain boots with her dress.

It's sad to say but these are the only pictures I took over Easter weekend. :( Especially since our little Will looked SO adorable in his plaid shorts (yes! shorts! It was that warm!) and collared shirt, and when by the time - days later - that it was clean again, he was too big! This boy is growing!!! Anyways, back to these pictures . . . . on Easter Saturday, dying eggs. You can see Dave was a major player in pulling this off.

Thank God Grandma Sheehan was here visiting! We needed her extra hands! This is what Will did while the rest of us worked on the eggs . . .

samantha tells about church

This fall we made a move to a new church in town. We are so thankful for God's provision for our family at this church - we are all engaging with the Lord and making friends. One of the things w are super thankful for at this church is the children's program. Usually on Sunday mornings, we go to the early service and come home and have brunch together. The girls tell us all about their Sunday mornings - what they learned and what they did. Samantha's story is the same every week, as you can see in the video: "I read Bible. Me, cheese crackers, no. Me, cereal."