Can't Make Up My Mind.

I have been having to lay down with Bear at bedtime while she is adjusting to going to sleep without sucking her thumb. She apparently has to talk herself to sleep now. And I'll tell you - a conversation with a four year old is not what I need when I am going to sleep. She gets my mind going in all directions.

So - she's excited about Saturday and trying to figure this countdown thing out. Being the good homeschooling mom, I am taking full advantage of working on her days of the week while we talk and thinking to myself, "heh, this homeschooling thing is a breeze - they are thirsting for knowledge and you just have to take advantage of the teachable opportunities." (I know - BIG mistake!) Then, this is how our conversation ended:

Bear: "How many days is it till Saturday?"

Me: "Two."

Bear: "I thought it was three."

Me: "Yesterday it was three, and today is it two. Then, tomorrow it will be one more day."

Bear: Pause. "Why do you keep changing your mind?"

Me: Silent - but laughing hysterically inside!!!


Okay, so the conversation was not going where I thought! We'll keep working on it. I love the thoughts of a four year old. I have a lot of funny friends - but they are funny on purpose. And, as much as I love them, the innocent thoughts of little kids just crack me up!

Bloomin' Aloe!

Look at this! Did you have any idea an aloe plant would bloom??? I had no idea. I totally neglect my aloes because every time I re-pot them, they immediately fill that pot with new babies. Then, they don't look very nice and I just look like I am neglecting my gardening duties. Which I am. But, I don't want my plants to reflect that. Seriously, we have a lifetime supply of sunburn care here at our house.

Now I'm not touching it until I see this bloom. I'll have to divide it later. I am so excited to see what this flower looks like. I'll post a picture for anyone who is as surprised as me - and who even cares. heh!

Update: Okay - that was pretty much it. That's what the bloom looks like. I was expecting it to open up wide. It turned a little more yellow, but when we got back home from vacation it wasn't worth a new picture. I still think it was cool!

Mother Knows Best

I have been on the hunt for new chairs for my kitchen table for a while now. They were looking pretty bad and falling apart, so I thought I definitely needed new. My mom mentioned I should just re-finish the ones I have, but I quickly dismissed that idea when I thought about all of the paint and drying times and re-covering seats and searching for fabric to re-cover seats and - yeah, right!

Then, Heidi over here challenged her readers to share their latest project. Well, you know me. I'm always up for a good challenge. Not really, I'm not very competative at all. But - I needed new chairs, so I decided I had to try something. And, when will I start listening to my mom?

Well, here is the before on my sad, faded, scratched up chairs. My dad kindly glued the joints back together for me before I got started. I was so afraid we would have someone over and the chair would bust right out from under them.




Here is the chair now. I went with a matte black paint to go with my black kitchen table. Can you tell I like yellow? I found that material at Hobby Lobby on clearance. It was $24.99/yard and was on sale for $4/yard. That's quite a bargain, if I must say so myself! How's that, Heidi?

The Rest of Our Easter Day.

This is how we started our Easter celebration -

But, this is how we ended it -

Bear broke her arm playing with her brothers and sisters in the yard Sunday night. She has been a real trooper. We can tell she is in pain, but she tries her best not to show it. Unfortunately, she also won't let it slow her down and I am afraid she is going to fall and make it worse. She is very proud of her new cast though, and has been sufficiently spoiled by friends and family.

The hardest part of this whole thing, by far, has been that she can no longer suck her thumb when she goes to bed. We will see if this is what breaks her of the habit. She will be thumb-free for 23 days when she gets the cast off. Can you break a habit in 23 days?

Happy Easter!

I was planning on putting out an Easter post, but we had a pretty eventful day and I never got it out. I felt a little funny sending out belated Easter wishes and thought I would just forget it and move on. Until I read over here at girltalk and they reminded me of something very important.

Easter is not something to celebrate just one day a year. Everyday should be Easter for Christians as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

So -

Happy Easter!

Where Do You Do Church?

We celebrated Easter this past weekend with friends. Some old and some new. The weather was perfect, and we all had a great time. Look at the smiles on these faces!

Were we remembering that Christ died for us on the cross during the sack races?




What about the egg race?

The egg hunt?

Egg Baseball!!! My camera skills are not good enough to capture all of the flying pieces of egg as it shattered in every direction.

We went through the Resurrection Eggs with the kids. If you haven't seen these, the kids love them. Each egg has a symbol inside that tells part of the story of Christ's death and resurrection. I'll give you a hint about how it ends - the last egg is empty!

We ended our afternoon together as our new friends led us in a time of songs and worship on the hill. We were able to stop and really reflect on our love for God and His love for us. He showed us His love by sending His Son to die for us. I know God wants us to play and have a great time with friends. He is the giver of all good things! We can remember Him in everything we do, even the silly fun. God was not only remembered during the mealtime prayer, the Resurrection Eggs, and the time of family worship at the end. He was woven through every part of the afternoon. I felt His presence.

I don't want my family to just go to church on Sunday. I want our time of worship to be constant. It's easy to remember God when we are at church, on a mission trip, or going to the nursing home. I want my family to worship God in everything we do. Even when we are being silly and just hanging around with friends, we need to be aware that God is part of that. He enjoys being included in every part of our lives. I know this picture is not what many people consider to be church - but having a good time with friends while we worship our Father - that's church to me.

Swimming, Anyone?

We are pretty tired of seeing the cold, rainy days around here. We are starting to get spring fever. Actually, summer fever now. We are ready to go swimming thanks to Aunt D and Cousin A. Look at these CUTE towels they made the kids! They love them!

Don't Try this at Home!

What do you do with the kids when you are studying the Dead Sea Scrolls?

You set paper on fire! Of course. At least that seems to be the lesson my kids remember.

It seemed so innocent. After we studied about the discovery of the scrolls, we were supposed to write some Old Testament verses on regular paper, soak it in tea, and when it dried, burn the edges. What we are left with is a piece of ancient scroll that was written on parchment that looks so real it would probably fool any museum we took it to. Not really.

Hold on - Did you catch the flaw in that assignment?

Setting the paper on fire? Car was amazed at this new discovery. His enthusiasm for this step scared me. The poor little guy then had to sit through a lecture on the dangers of fire and how quickly it spreads, and that it can hurt you, and that we live in the middle of a forest and it can burn the whole area down once it starts.

I think I have him back where I want him. Now he wants to keep his distance. That's a good place for a 6 year old boy when it comes to fire. Very distant!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Well - it has started. Baseball season. We started Opening Day this past weekend with a parade, and then Tate had his first game Saturday night. We had a good weekend. Busy, but good.

I kind of have mixed emotions when it comes to sports. I don't enjoy rushing through meals to get to practice, or making all of our plans around games and practices. Not to mention keeping up with all of the equipment. Oh - and the stinky uniforms I get to wash! But, I really enjoy watching my kids have fun and they learn some invaluable lessons playing team sports. We had a great experience with that from Tate's first game. He had an issue that he was really struggling with after the game. He was truly crushed and heartbroken. I told him that I couldn't fix it for him, but that he could spend some time talking to God about it. He did. For a long time. Then, when he came out of the room he said he felt as if nothing had happened. It was over. He told us that what he learned was that God hears his prayers.

I could have told him that.

I have told him that.

It's a lesson he had to learn on his own - and he did.

He is learning some big things on the baseball field. I am proud of him. These lessons make sports time well spent for our family. In moderation, of course.