Spring is in the Air - 2025

I love the Midwest and the beauty of each season...but there is something so exciting about Winter shifting into Spring. This year was no exception!

With Spring comes the return of Baseball - more importantly, the Cubs! I woke up early (5 am) on March 18th & 19th so I could watch the Cubs & Dodgers play their first games of the season in Tokyo. Sadly, the Cubs lost both games and I was one tired (and cranky) girl!

A few weeks later (April 4th, the Cubs played their home opener at Wrigley). We won this game!

Gotta love Spring cleaning! I found this new bedding at Goodwill over the winter and finally swapped the old for the new. 

March & April are busy months for the Barman family, birthday wise. We got together with the extended family to celebrate birthdays - Willy, Casey, Alex, Jacob, Malachi, Grammy & Debbie. It gets pretty comical, trying to fit all those names into one birthday song.

After Christmas, Maddie started visiting different churches and quickly fell in love with Edgewood Baptist. She got plugged in and (after a few months), took the next step towards membership. On March 23rd, she became a member of Edgewood. We are very proud of the decision that she made to find a church that fit her! A few months later, she would accept a summer internship role for Missions at Edgewood!

Maddie ran a half marathon on April 13th in Naperville, IL. Matt, Kaitee and I joined Maddie for the weekend - shopping, loading up on carbs, cheering her on from the sidelines - our kind of weekend! She did really well - even finishing under her time goal!

Maddie is in the middle of the runners in this picture - pink t-shirt and black shorts.

There was a new Barnes & Noble right in front of our parking spot. We were excited to see the inside and decided that we would stop in after the race was over (it was too early when we arrived that morning). Sadly, we found out that the Grand Opening was still a few weeks away! Boo...

Matt hanging out at home with the twins...

Easter is always a special time with our extended family - fellowship, wonderful food, Easter Egg Hunt, Flannel Graph bible stories, games (& coloring) and the best part of Easter - celebrating our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ!

Kaitee & Will caught the train into Chicago, on her birthday, to watch the Broadway musical, Hadestown. They followed that up with a stop at Dairy Queen for a birthday Blizzard!

We celebrated Kaitee's birthday once we were back in town...but Grandad & Grammy stopped by her work to celebrate and brought her a cookie cake too.

While Kaitee & Will were in Chicago, Matt & I were in Colorado with Maddie - dropping her off at Summit Ministries in Colorado Springs for a 2 week conference. 

While in Colorado for the conference, Maddie got to explore the area a bit (Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs and Manitou Incline).

With Spring in full bloom, I was able to spend more time outside in the yard! Check out the petals from the neighbor's flowering tree...

Mulch in the flower beds...

And enjoying the back yard!

Matt & I were able to hit the road a few times - just driving to drive and enjoy the day together.

While driving Rt 84, we stopped at this cemetery to take some pictures of the beautiful trees and clouds.

We loved the benches throughout the cemetery. Nice for people to sit on while visiting their loved ones who have passed.

A few shots of our everyday life stuff...I still enjoy working on the occasional puzzle. 

Will & I ate at Chick-fil-A one evening and they had a fundraiser going on. Will posed with the cow behind him and then told me "and you can even put that picture on the blog". LOL - thanks buddy! I even let him get ice cream, ha!

One of our neighbors has a Maple Tree and it dropped a TON of helicopter seeds one week. I jokingly mentioned that if the kids had been younger, I would've given them the job to go out and pick up all of the "whirly twirlies". The next morning I came home from work and found Maddie on the ground in the front yard. The grocery bag was full of the whirly twirlies! I love their hearts!

After church one Sunday, Matt & I headed to Scott County Park to find a letterbox. 

Got back in the car and found it was my birthday! (12/12/1973)

Matt was asked to give his testimony one evening at Celebrate Recovery. He did a great job and God was given glory!

Another day, Matt & I headed north along the Rock River. We hiked a bit, found a few letterboxes, tried a new restaurant for lunch and enjoyed the afternoon together!

Castle Rock State Park

Lowden State Park

White Pines State Park

Early May, Kaitee & Maddie drove to Des Moines for the weekend. They toured the capital building, visited the Des Moines Art Center and explored the city. On Sunday, they drove to Pella, IA to experience the Tulip Festival. They got there in time to watch the parade!

As Spring gives way to Summer, we look forward to vacations, day trips, later sunsets and warmer days! This Spring was a nice one with lots of activities and travel. Always thankful for our time together!