we are "the noise"

last week we were asked if we would be part of the "family map" video the church was making. they wanted our family to be "the noise". yes, i think we qualify.

the church is launching a "family map" visual for the different stages of raising kids - "the baby" (0-2), "the noise" (2-4), "the bus" (5-10), "the talk" (10-13), "the dance" (13-15), "the keys" (15-16), "the choices" (16-18) and "what's next?" (18+) - and wanted us to be part of a video for the launch today. so friday afternoon they came out to the house to get some action of the kids right as madelyn was getting off the bus. our kids have never been so quiet.

i suggested that they slide down the stairs. that loosened things right up! here is what i bootlegged from service this morning. we are in the beginning but you can watch the whole thing if interested...

this was the first service of getting all six of us to church by 8:30am so that matt and i can get our hallway set up. matt and the boys have missed the past two weeks due to illnesses. i told madelyn she looked like a snow princess in her white, silver and grey this morning. we didn't really have time for a picture and i didn't get a good one.

after church we stayed to pray for the lady who teaches the classroom next to our old one. tomorrow she is going to have a double mastectomy for breast cancer (reconstruction in a few months) and next week her husband is having a pacemaker and defibrillator put in! they have a four-year-old son. his fifth birthday is tuesday. we had a relatively large group stay after to pray for her and a lot of us brought frozen meals, gift cards and cards to try and lighten their load over the next few weeks. i was struggling to keep from bawling. my heart was just breaking for them. her name is angela if you want to pray for their family too.

when we finally got home and finished up lunch, madelyn quickly grabbed daddy to get her painting hung in her room. she couldn't be happier. love.