Easter 2011

Where does the time go? It seems like I'm barely making it to the computer when the end of school is near. We had a wonderful Easter celebrating Christ! I think everyday in heaven will be 100x better than Easter, and I love Easter, so I think I'm gonna be ALL SET!

Stepped outside for a quick pic before church, and unbelievably, they cooperated.

Just a little scrapbooking on a Saturday morning. I'm LOVING today because we have NOTHING to do! Nothing to do means we have time to potty train without leaving the house, and G MAN has potty power today!  Whoohoo! I got the template from noreimerreason.com again! It's so easy! Thank you "A" for your tips..made a huge difference!

Back to Easter, here is the traditional tree pic with Little Lion and Allie..

...here's the first one in 2008.

We have the tradition of taking pics outside the church in front of the same tree.  Can't believe how big the girls are getting.

We celebrated with Em and Adam late in the day.  You know about confetti eggs?? Garrett LOVES THEM! I'll teach you.

Position egg above a child that is clueless and younger rendering them defenseless against you...in this case Abbott.

Either crack or squeeze the egg, using the least amount of force which results in the least amount of pain for the child.

Now, SHAKE violently to dispense all the confetti. FOR SURE to produce lots of giggling among both parties.

Took some sweet pics of Em's family. It's hard to get an almost 2 year old to stand still!

Oh the confetti eggs are $1.97/dozen at walmart or most grocery stores...if you can remember for next year:)

Wordless post

Not exactly

Garrett left a load in my potty. (I'm not being crude...read the sippy...it says LOAD on it.)  I will explain the story behind this pic after I give my thoughts on potty training this.....this......this BOY!

 Listen now, I have not considered myself to be one of these "scratch your head moms". The ones who say, wow my kid just won't potty train. Having trained two already, I thought, what is the big deal? We will do this, this, and that, and he will be trained...no big deal. Potty training woes are only for the faint of heart ( let me kid you, I was just as bad with my first child, but your perspective changes with each child), and that does NOT include me. (Those who know me well would argue that point:)  I can say with all honesty, I have not pushed him. He just won't do it.  We ask from time to time, and I think he has gone ONE time to date. He's almost THREE.


So YESTERDAY, the BOY runs in from the back yard screaming, "I need to squirt, I need to squirt." And he ran in my bathroom of all places (he NEVER goes in there).  I ran behind him cheering quite hysterically at his epiphany.  He ASKED to climb on the potty, and then ...wait...wait...wait...just a poot.  You would have thought he just been named a national merit finalist.  We both screamed...why? Because at least he happily sat on the potty and made an effort. He did this about 10 times...and 10 poots later, my hopes and dreams for progress were simply flushed down the toilet.


Oh well. Maybe another day.  I put his diaper back on, and went about my day.  Later that night, I went to go myself, and the sippy cup is what a found.....a cruel cruel joke left by my son...the BOY.


Sigh.... On to more pleasant conversations.  My nieces, twin brother, and sisnlaw came down for a visit. Here are some pics I took of them..pretty sweet girls.

We were so busy, that I didn't take any other pics of their visit.  The kids love playing with all their cousins, and we had a great time!

Beautiful Grill

Mary had to have pics made at school this morning for pre-k graduation. As she walked down the stairs, Garrett exclaimed, "Well HI, Beautiful Grill!"  I took a few pics before school...can't resist when she's in all white:)

Sisnlaw Scrap

I spent a couple of days last week with the sisnlaws! Mary, Garrett, and I drove over with Bunny to hang out. The kids had a BLAST!  Katie spoke at a mom's group at her dear friend's church, and she did an incredible job sharing Reese's story. I'm so behind on blogging, but here are the pages I put together for the book.  Thanks to Noreimerreason.com for the freebie scrapping templates. I plugged in the papers and pictures! Nice time saver indeed:)

Took these sweet pics of Abs and Hunter! If Mandy, Bo, and Abby weren't so attached, I would have scooped that one right up in my back pack and taken him home. He is ONE SWEET baby! We sure missed Zach and Colson! We will catch you this summer little men!

Baptism

Last weekend was a very special weekend for our family. About a year ago, Allie shared with us that she wanted to follow Jesus.  Here is the link from last year that shares her story.  She expressed a desire to be baptized, but we wanted to allow her to mature some more to make sure she understood the significance of this decision. Last Sunday, we have the privilege of witnessing this exciting event in her life!

We gave her this devotional book that morning.  My MIL (a.k.a. "Bunny") gave me the adult version some time ago, and it is a wonderful paraphrase of scripture for daily life if you are looking for a good one. I was excited to find there is a very sweet and simple kid version.

Pappy and Bunny came down to celebrate. We had a very relaxing weekend and BEAUTIFUL weather! I'm thankful for their role and my parents' role as well in Allie's life. There's no doubt they've prayed for her to make this decision for years, just as they did for us as we were growing up.  We come from a long line of parents and grandparents committed to prayer, and I can't think of a better legacy.

These sweet girls came to watch! Emma Cate is on the right, and she and Allie met the first day of preschool right after we moved here. Those two were tight from day one, and finished out 3 years at the same school.  They only have one activity together now, but every time they get together, they just pick up where right they left off. You never hear a harsh word between them, and they just love being together. Madyn is on the left, and this little one saw Allie the first day of school at CHS and said to her mamma, " I know her from art camp!" She remembered being with Allie for a short time at camp earlier in the summer, and they have been close ever since.  Again, you never ever hear them squabble and they play quite a bit since they are in school everyday together.  We love these two girls very much! 

Em and Adam came over from their church (they lead the college group..hence the t shirts), to see it. These two have been a huge part of Allie's life especially since we moved to the same town. I'm so incredibly thankful to share our lives in close proximity!

Can't leave out little lion. I've probably said before that a week after we moved here, he greeted me at the door (a 2 year old) at our first small group meeting. Now at 7, I get the same greeting....a huge hug and a beaming smile like he hasn't seen me in months.  Love this boy too. He and Allie are perfect friends. She tells him what to do, and he's happy to comply!  I've always joked that if he were to pick one of our girls to marry, that he probably should choose Mary...or be bossed around for the rest of his life!

His parents have been in small group with us for 5 years, and they teach Allie every week in Sunday School. They have watched her grow from week to week and we are so blessed for their role in her life.

The church watches inside on a big screen.  Allie gave a little bit of her story. She seemed so big!

Her daddy had the honor of baptizing her!

What a wonderful day!!! That night as we prayed at bedtime, she prayed, "Thank you Jesus for choosing me to be your child." That was the first time I'd heard her say it that way, and I couldn't have been more thankful myself.  

Zoo pals

We love a spring visit to the zoo!  Mary and I went recently with our friends Amy and Campbell. M and C have been pals since birth!  

Mary's first visit was at 2 months old, but for some reason I don't have a pic:)  Here is her second visit at 16 months or thereabouts.  Everyone loves the bird sanctuary.

Here she is at 2!

She and C (both age 2) must have been too busy to turn around because all my pics of them are looking at the animals.

Here they are last year at 4. I guess we skipped 3!

...and finally this year.  Both just turned 5! It was such a treat to have 2 five year olds for the day. I think 5 is among the sweetest of ages.

Again the obligatory bird pic.

I guess birds of a feather flock together.  These zoo pals had a GREAT day!