Spring!!!

Spring is blooming down here in the deeper south. This is our first Spring down here, and like our first Autumn, we are pleased with the different foliage and array of colors in our yard. I know that there are many flowers that we have not even discovered yet...and many that we are seeing and do not know exactly what they are! D-D found this pretty purple flower and we put it in her hair. We have roses (without thorns) that stretch out along our fence, along with a type of jasmine, lots of azaleas, some hydrangeas that will come later this summer, a bush with teensy white flowers that smells divine and downright yummy (the bees also like this, so we stay pretty clear of it) and some gardenia bushes...though the blooms are not very hearty. We also have a ton of pollen from our pine trees. This is new to me...I did not realize that pines had so much pollen!!!! After a 5 minute downpour yesterday, I watched a stream of water coming off of the roof. Usually you can see through the water---it being a clear liquid and all---but yesterday it flowed in a yellowish green pollen-ey stream. Our back patio is now a good thick layer of that yellow stuff (aaaaaa-chooooo!) and the road in front of our house has a thin layer of yellow on top of the black. You can see where the cars have driven, so now it looks a little like a bumble bee road. :)

Here is a photo of D-D wearing her purple flower:

Just a Swingin'

Are you singing the song after reading the title above? I am (and messing up the words)!!!! Well, we do not know a Charlotte Johnson and our swings aren't on the front porch nor is daddy in the backyard (right now) and momma is NOT fixin' chicken up to fry (or is it bakin' an apple pie?), but the kiddoes certainly love the swings. They have a great time, and now that the weather is getting warmer, Z is showing us how much he really enjoys the swing, too. Such a sweetheart!!!

Goin' Huntin'

The kids hunted their eggs before church (18 total: 6 real, hard-boiled, kid-painted eggs, the other 12 were plastic---which they were a little disappointed to find empty...oops!!!). Then after lunch, our neighbors hid eggs in their yard (they did a fantastic job hiding them). The children were invited over to hunt them and had a blast...they especially loved that THESE eggs were filled with yummy treats which they opened up soon after the hunt was over.









After this, we hid eggs in the back yard and hunted and hunted, then hid and hunted and hid and hunted...and hid and hunted many times more. The amount of eggs to find got bigger and bigger because the children kept finding more eggs to hide. AMAZING! Now the baskets (and the bags of plastic eggs) are waiting to be put away and I hope I will make myself take the opportunity of the time I will most definitely have today to do this. :)

Here Came The Easter Bunny...

...and look what the bunny left!!!!!

The children enjoyed Easter morning...which was fun and rushed (we attend early service which starts at 8:15 am and the kids were up and about a little after 7 am). Here are the Easter treats before the children got to them...and then their fun of looking through their baskets:

Egg Painting

Here are some pictures of the kids painting their eggs on Easter Eve. They had a lot of fun and were very excited about the hunt the next day.


























D-D tried to get a picture beside her painted egg like her siblings did above, but she would not stop talking about the egg. We kept catching her in mid-word. It certainly made for a pretty funny picture----->

Camping

Yesterday after church, our study group came over for lunch. Two of the four families were out of town, but we still had a good time and a great visit. I love these pictures of the two littlest girls on the trampoline. I did not realize that a trampoline gave hair so much extra body and fullness.










Later that afternoon, Dana took M-G and E on a camping trip. Z, D-D and I followed them, but we came home when it started getting dark (and too cold for the little ones to be out). I wish we could have gotten more pictures, but these were the few that we got:

Luck o' the Irish

Though we are not Irish (at least I do not think there is any Irish blood in our lineage), M-G had some of their luck today. Though I have searched since I was 5 years old, I have never found one of these...and M-G found it within 2 minutes of me telling her there were such things:

Mileposts and Sleepless Nights

(notice his chin and nose---huge evidence of his teething---poor guy)

Z's first tooth came through on March 11. One on the top, but not a center tooth...the incisor to the right of his center teeth (his left, my right looking in his mouth). I felt on the other side and a pretty large swollen area was there as well.

Then, yesterday, I discovered his bottom gums swelling. I can see where his two bottom center teeth will be coming in. So...Z is cutting three teeth at once...and keeping me up most of the night. Last night we were up for about 4 to 5 hours. He was screaming and moaning, and crying, I was trying to help him and getting cranky in the process. I am still a bit cranky this morning. Everyone else slept fine---thanking God for that.

Last night before he was put down for bed he was on his tummy on the floor. I looked over at him and he had pushed himself up so that he was on all fours and was rocking back and forth. YIKES!!!! If that is any indication, then he will be crawling soon. Of course, he may just enjoy rocking back and forth and then jump straight to walking! ha, ha, ha.

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M-G and E had their very first soccer game last night. Dana said that they did a good job, both thinking that their team won the game. Dana said that E would run to the ball, give a good kick, miss it, and then fall right on his bottom!!! Charlie Brown playing soccer. And they look great in their soccer outfits. (I know they are called uniforms, but sometimes I get such a kick when I can irritate all you sport people---pray for me...hee, hee, hee) We will have to practice with them some more and explain the rules to them a bit, but overall they are doing terrific for their first time to play.

Teacher Appreciation Banquet

The church here hosted a dinner for the teachers of our children. Though not all teachers could make the banquet, there were many who came. M-G's teacher was able to come, and so we were part of the celebration for our teachers. Each family was in charge of decorating their own table as well as providing the plates, cups, utensils, etc. This opportunity to decorate made me a little nervous...I do not have much confidence in my decor talents. As many of you know, my mother can take a bag of trash and make it look like a treasure and a delight. An amazing and wonderful talent that I hoped was shared with both of her daughters. My sister got that talent, but not me. :) I am always thankful when mom helps me figure out how to place my china in the china cabinet, how to fix our entry table so it looks welcoming, and how to make everything feel cozy and warm and inviting. My mom makes everything she touches just beautiful!

So...it was time for me to grow up and decorate without the aide of my mom (I do not think the phone conversation we had while I was setting things up really counted). Here is what our table looked like the night before the dinner:




M-G was tickled pink that she was able to eat and visit with her teacher...and the dinner was terrific.
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On the way home, E said, "When we get home, I need to get some camoflaugss."

"You need what? And, why?" one of us asked.

"Camoflaugss---you know, to cover my teeth!!!" E replied. We questioned him further in hopes of understanding what he wanted..."Some CAMOFLAUGSS!!! To go between my teeth and get stuff out!!!"

Dana still looked a bit puzzled, but we were close to figuring this one out..."Would you happen to mean DENTAL floss?" I asked.

"Yes!!!" said with relief.

The Right Answer

When we moved, not all of our things were able to fit in the moving van, so we had to leave them with friends. This past weekend, we were able to get a few of the things back from the friends who came to see us. One of the things was a rocking horse that M-G and E received one Christmas from Nene and Poppa. When D-D saw that Mr. Dennis and Miss Dana did not take the horse home, she was very excited. She has loved getting up on the horse and rocking across our floor. This past Monday night she got on the horse and said, "Miss Dana and Mr Dennis have a horse just like this at their house, and now we have one, too!!!" (this was said in her own special- no-one-talks-like-D-D accent)

I then explained to her that the horse at their house was this one and that the horse is ours. I asked her, "Do you know who made this horse for you?"

Thinking she was so smart, and knowing what the answer is to most questions like this, she raised her hands in the air and said in a pleased and excited voice, "GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!" When she saw me smile and try not to laugh, she thought real quick, jumped down from the horse and, with a big smile on her face, yelled, "JE-E-E-E-SUS!!!!!!!!!"

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Yesterday morning we finally put away the Thomas train set that has been occupying most of D-D's time and imagination. I thought we had a pretty elaborate set-up...especially for a mom who is a little deficient in the arena of road and track set-up. After all pieces were in the box with the lid firmly on, D-D stood on top of the box and said, "Na-yow Ah'm a beeg girl!!" Then she jumps off of the box and says, "Na-yow Ah'm a lee-tole girl!!!" She did this several times, back and forth, back and forth. Finally she stood as tall as she could on top of the box and said, "Ah'm a beeg girl...but Ah'm not as beeg as God!!"

(note: Ah'm is her way of saying "I'm")

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One day within the past two weeks, D-D got on a kick about giants. That is all she would talk or ask questions about.

Mom? Do giants live in houses?

Mom? Will giants eat us?

Mom? Do giants sleep?

Mom? Can a giant live in this house?

Mom? Are there really giants in this world?

Why? Well, why? But, why? (the "why"s come regardless of the answer)

After a little bit of quiet and some deep thinking on her part:
Mom...giants don' have bebbies!!!!
(me: they don't? What do they have?)
They juss have weally beeg ke-yuds (kids)!!!