Hangin' Out

With unseasonalably warm temperatures nearing 70 degrees and beautiful sunshine, we just had to get outside.  Amanda thought she would relieve me and take over the raking.

But after about 5 minutes, she realized skipping and dancing down the sidewalk would be much more fun.  (I have so much to learn from her!)

I wore my purple shirt because it was clean and on top, my usual standard for picking out clothes.  Avery changed into her purple shirt because she wanted to "be like me" (gulp) and Amanda changed when she saw Avery was wearing hers.

My little four-year old is getting so big and at this stage is happy and willing to pose for the camera.

And little Mr. A was pretty happy being out watching the action go back and forth in front of him.  His sisters and all of their antics are a marvel to him. 

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens. 

From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise 

because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

Psalm 8:1-2

Project 365, Week 45

November 1

Aiden's cousins came for a visit.  I love the way Alayna is looking at the "silly boy".

November 2

Uncle Nathan took a break from helping fix Shaun's truck and raked up some leaves so the girls could play.

November 3

Day two of truck repair...we can't afford to have a leak in the gas line for too long!  Avery was learning fractions by passing tools and Aiden was quietly observing while soaking in some Vitamin D.

November 4

Aiden has made a new friend...the giraffe who resides in his crib.  Its nice that he often wakes up talking now, instead of the immediate, urgent cry of COME GET ME!

November 5

Starting young.

November 6

Avery enjoys sitting at her desk coloring, writing and drawing (and smiling for the camera). 

I couldn't help but notice I am the short, fat one.  :)

November 7

Shaun surprised us with tickets to see a local production of The Sound of Music.  He even made arrangements for Aiden.  Its been a while (about 16 weeks) since it was just the four of us, and it was nice (and easy!).  We first stopped at Subway for dinner and the girls thought that was the surprise that we'd been talking about, and they were totally fine with that.  But the big, huge grins came out when they realized we were going to see a show.  It was 8-11 pm, so needless to say, there were not many children in attendance and ours being there caused quite a stir.

For most of the second half Avery was pretty nervous about the Nazi scene so she didn't venture far from Shaun's lap.  He said her heart was beating FAST during it. The show was very well done and we all fun.  Thanks for the special surprise, Shaun....you know how to show your girls a good time!

You can take a visit to Sara's blog to see more projects.

I Didn't Eat It

Yesterday morning I handed off Aiden to Avery for 30 seconds so I could use the bathroom.  He immediately pitched a fit and carried on the whole time even though she was talking to him, Ok, Bud, ok.  When I picked him back up and said, Aiden you don't need to cry like that when your sisters are holding you...they love you.  Avery said, That's ok Mom (as if she didn't want me "scolding" him).  Mom, he had a booger on his nose......I didn't eat it, I just wiped it off.  Thank God for little blessings and ewww!

Later that night I was bringing the girls home from their Rainbows program at church.  I always ask what their lesson was about and Avery usually pauses and says, God.  I seem to remember giving the same answer when I was little...very safe. 

She paused extra long and said, Jesus and some sick people.  Hmmm...I guess that narrows it down a little...better than "God".  Ok, I said, did the sick people go see Jesus or did Jesus go see them?  Ummm...there were ten sick guys.  Bingo, I think.  So, did all of the men tell Jesus "thank you" for healing them?  Ummmm....one guy went to say "good-bye" to Jesus, the others were at church or somewhere.

Well hey, its progress!

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. A

nd Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Luke 17:12-19

Dress-Up

This year, for several reasons, we opted out of doing Halloween festivities with the kids.  We took them to the mall instead so they could play at the playscape.  I imagined it would be completely empty with everyone out trick or treating but actually all the stores were giving out candy so there were lots of kids.  Nearly half of those playing at the playscape were dressed in costume.  I kept waiting for one of the girls to ask me why but they never did.  They had to have noticed because, being girls, they are both quite observant.

Later I was thinking about it and it struck me funny.  WHY would they think anything was out of the ordinary?  Most days of the week they are dressed in some kind of getup, just because.  We try to keep it at a minimum in our house, but I doubt they would have thought it odd for some of the kids to be running around without clothing on either.  They noticed, but didn't think it odd or worth mentioning.  I wish I was so accepting of people....we can learn so much from our children, can't we?

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."

Luke 10:21

Our Very Own Park

The girls have anxiously been awaiting the playscape we were preparing for. Up until now, our "backyard" was just a big woodpile, but Shaun cleared out a bunch of brush, moved his woodpile and made room for a play area. He set it up in the evening, so by the time it was done, darkness had fallen. The next morning the girls were ready to go try it out.

I have to say it is strange to look out the window and see a children's playscape in our yard. It makes me feel like a real parent. Kinda like the first time interviewing a potential pediatrician, dropping your baby off in the nursery for the first time or going to kindergarten registration (I imagine).

Avery's been calling it "our very own park" and they've proudly shown it to anyone who stops by. They go out as soon as they can get ready in the morning and they come in after dark in the evening. It brings us great pleasure to see them enjoying it so much...and getting fresh air, too!

Admitedly the backyard needs quite a bit of work since this is the first time its been used for something other than various stages in the firewood process. In time it will improve and hopefully they'll make lots of good memories out there in their little city lot.

Even Aiden got in on the action

This is the door that goes to our basement. I always think of The Secret Garden when I see it.

Sorry, I had to throw in another "morning clothes" picture. Avery said it was clothes to go to the park, complete with hat, mittens and sandals. Its actually a little freaky with the shoes and hat laying there too.

I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

Ecclesiastes 2:5

I Heart Faces ~ Balloons

I had all the best intentions to blow up some balloons and stage a photoshoot with the kids, but when I went to get them they were not where I thought they'd be. So I figured I'd dig in the 'ole archives. Not that I have many balloon pictures because I have an aversion to them in general, but I think even if I had a hundred to choose from I might come back to this one. It was Avery's 3rd birthday party and she could not have been more delighted!

Check out some of the other great entries at I Heart Faces.

Mother of The Year

Yesterday Shaun took Avery to dance class and when he got there he saw a big sign on the door "Parent Observation Week", which means parents are allowed to sit in on the class and see what the kids have been learning. Of course it was on the calendar that was given out at the beginning of the semester, but somehow it never made it to MY calendar.

I was so bummed to have missed it, though Avery isn't yet aware that I should have been there and wasn't. So I had to deal with regret and mommy guilt, but she was still super sweet in her little class, as you can see from Shaun's phone pictures.

(back row, left side)

(on the left side, next to the helper in black)

Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

Jeremiah 31:13