Elliot is 11!!!

Posted by Gabrielle

Elliot turned 11 yesterday, and of course we celebrated with a wonderful dinner of his choice. I was not at all surprised that Elliot takes after Timothy in birthday faces. :)

Happy Birthday Elliot!

Trying to blow out the candles in one breath. He almost made it!

Benaiah's Thoughts on Ice Cream

Posted by Gabrielle

"It's cold inside, Mommy, It's cold outside and it's going to rain."

And we said Good-bye...For a Time...

Posted by Gabrielle

This morning, we said good-bye to Meme and Pepe before they left to travel back to Boston...Said farewell until we travel up there at the end of May! :)

Of course, we didn't let them leave without a family picture...or two or three! :)

At the Mexican Restaurant

Posted by Gabrielle

Timothy and Benaiah sharing fried ice cream

The little boys playing in Meme and Pepe's living room

Morning at the Park with Meme and Pepe

Posted by Gabrielle

We had a wonderful time with Meme and Pepe at the park this morning. I'll let the pictures tell the story! :)

Benaiah enjoying a swing with Arianne

Benaiah-split

We are a group of wonderfully mature teenagers... :)

Toby on the elephant

yours truly!

the Hellwig idea of a fun way to use a slide

Father-Daughter time

"Mommy, this is very nice fun." Benaiah age 2 1/2

"This will be a slide with bumps. There's only four bumps. That's okay." Jedidiah, age 8

My sweet sisters

Meme, Pepe and Timothy

Signs of Spring

Posted by Gabrielle

Spring: The miracle of new life...

Our Weekend with our People

Posted by Gabrielle

Saturday morning, Tonton Michael and Tata Becky flew in to spend the weekend with us. We had a wonderful time, but I don't have enough pictures to do it justice.

Saturday evening, we went out for dinner.

Tonton Michael and Timothy

Elliot receiving a lesson in the use of chopsticks from Tata Becky

Three little brothers awaiting their dinner...

Some with goofyness...

some with anticipation...

and some with impatience.

Sunday afternoon, we witnessed several rounds of chess between the chess masters of the Hellwig/Kaufman family.

As a bit of Southern trivia, we recently learned that these old-time Southerners refer to their family as their 'people'. :)

Birthday Smiles

Posted by Gabrielle

On April 16th, we celebrated Timothy's 17th birthday!!! Where have the years gone since we were both little toddlers and I generously filled his playpen with toys?! :)

Happy Birthday Timothy!

As a bonus, Tobias being cute while waiting for dessert