Updates All Around

In this the last week of May we thought we would take a moment to give you the latest updates for each Lyons Life.

MAX: We are still in process. The rules and requirements continue to grow or change and continue to cause issue. However this week a big item will be checked off the list(hopefully). We continue to pray that our paperwork will be approved and we can get this kiddo home. He continues to grow and develop well. Next week, Thursday, June 5th Max will turn one. We had one rockin' barnyard birthday in the works...but that will just have to wait, We pray that he will have a special day with his foster family. We are so appreciative that he has been in such great care. Please continue to pray for our family and so many others working to bring their children home. *Also, we have learned information about his birth mother that is not able to be shared here, but has brought her to the forefront of our prayers. Please join us in praying for her and her health. We are so grateful that we, in time will be able to raise her child as our own. What a sacrifice and act courage.

JACK: With one year of preschool under his belt this kid seems to grow older every day in his behavior, abilities and his demeanor. He loves t-ball and enjoys the "step and swing hitting" the best. He has also developed a new passion for coloring and drawing. There have been a few late nights as we have found him coloring in bed.He also is dabbling in break dancing, karate (nothing formal yet) and being a good superhero. He brings much joy and laughter to our lives (oh, and the occasional headache). It has been so much fun to be the parents of this blond blessing.

JON: If you have not yet heard, Jon has returned to " The big sexy M" aka Microsoft. There is something about free beverages and having an x-box in your office that called Jon back. It might also have been the fact that he loves a stimulating work environment, the challenge of developing something out of nothing, and the culture of jeans at the office. He has been there about a month and is a happy camper. (As I type he is doing "research" (aka- shooting some kind of crazy alien ninja) )

MEG: Just as Jon is beginning a new job, my time as Director of Youth and Family Ministries at our church Cedarcreek has come to an end after six years. It is my desire to be home with the boys (should we ever get a second :))and so in January I gave my official notice/ heads up. I agreed to stay until the end of the school year. On Tuesday in what seemed like a surreal state, I cleaned out the office and brought home my eclectic collection of things deep and spiritual and things....well not so deep, like my amazing nun salt and pepper shakers. Come this Sunday there will be a little hoopla in my honor and a BBQ with friends. Inspite of an "official" end we are excited to continue worshiping with our friends at Cedarcreek. It is most defiantly with mixed emotions that I have said good bye to paid ministry for a time. I am excited to be home, but I will also miss the challenge of duct taping students to the wall or throwing water balloons in the name of Jesus.

So there be the Lyons. In all our glory. We pray that all who read our blog are well and enjoying life (and all it's craziness) as much as we are. How sweet it is to be loved and have family. We are a blessed bunch.

Grandma Shirley Gets the Prize

It has been five months since the Christmas Chaos came and went. Many of the gifts that Jack "loved" in the those early days have found their way to the bottom of the toy box, under the bed, or to the back of the closet. However one gift keeps on giving and getting a fantastic response every time. What gift is it? Who was the gift giving genius?......the winner is Grandma Shirley (Jon's grandma). She gave Jack a subscription to the magazine My Big Backyard. It is a magazine filled with pictures and activities about animals found in the backyard and around the world. Today we received a new magazine (Tigers were on the cover) and there was a shriek from the backseat when I announced that "it came". Shortly after we walked in the house Jack had settled in with his mag and his popcorn. So hat's off to you Grandma Shirley. You get the prize. Way to go on a stellar gift. We Love You!

90* What ?

So it is a mere four days since my last post and wow, what a shift the weather has made. The last two days have had temps between 85-90 degrees. That is crazy weather for here in the northwest. But have no fear, while we may not be use to it...we have certainly enjoyed it. Jack and I were able to spend the day on Friday with some of my childhood friends and their kids at a local lake. It was beautiful. My friends and I chatted and Jack spent his whole day in the water. Come Saturday the sprinkler was in full use in our back yard. There was much running, laughing and jumping. Jack loves water and running..so it was a perfect day.

Only in the Northwest

So it is the middle of May and spring has sprung here in the Northwest.
Yeah Right! The weather has done nothing but dumped buckets of rain and brought chilled temps. Have no fear though, the end of the year preschool field trip to the zoo happened anyways. Jack and I bundled up and put on the slickers for the day. We enjoyed the animals with all his friends and I enjoyed chatting it up with the other moms. Only in the Northwest do we do the zoo on a day that is dumping!


Jack and his "best goofy girl" Kiera

Jack and his "crew" : Zac, Jack, Abby & Brayden

Monday Messiness = Machines?

At our house Mondays tend to be "stay home days". The house is cleaned, laundry done and Jack can lounge about in his PJ's and do his thing far longer than other days. Eventually though on a Monday Jack and I head up stairs to clean his room. Call me a mean mommy but I don't let the kiddo just sit and watch. He has to choose a task and I do another. This Monday though when we walked into his room Jack had an idea.

"Mom, I have an idea. You can get stated cleaning my room. I am going to get dad's hammer, 7 screws and a piece of wood."

" No pal, we don't need any tools, please come and clean up"

" Mom, I just need those tools so that I can build a machine. I am going to build a clean up machine. Then it can clean my room and I can sit on my bed and read a book. Reading a better than cleaning, right?"

" You are right Jack, it is more fun to read than clean but today, we don't have the tools or materials needed to make a machine. We are just going to use our God given machine..."

" God gave us machines???? (shocked)"

" Yup, they are called HANDS."

" Awe mom..."

Forts, Frogs and Fishing

This Sunday we had a fantastic day a the Murky Pond Farm. A couple from church invited all the families to come to their farm for lunch and fun. They had goats, a llama, two large ponds, ducks and geese and lots of fun activities for the families. What a treat. Lots of families from church participated. It was a great way to spend a beautiful spring sunday. Jack loved trying his hand at pond fishing and was content to sit patiently and wait....but after much waiting all he caught was a large gnarly stick. Jack was not disappointed (thus posing for a photo) Next he wanted to paint rocks and play with goats. This kid loved the goats. As if that were not enough fun for one day the kids constructed a few forts. They had a great time working together. It was a great day.


Jack and his good friend Teya,


Jack and Dad patiently waiting for a bite


Proudly showing off his catch : a gnarly stick


Hard at work painting his "bullfrog" rock