precious memory

It's fitting to follow up the last post with this one.

We check on the kids every night before we go to bed.

One night we find both of them in Taylor's bed.

It was precious.

They've tried to lay together before, but it never lasts.  They usually get in trouble for talking or laughing or getting out of bed.  It's just too much fun.

But this night we didn't hear a word.  I'm pretty sure Taylor was already asleep when Mason went in.

The thought of him carrying his blanket in, crawling up and under the covers and going to sleep by his sissy is such a sweet sweet memory.

I wanted to remember it forever.

no girls allowed

The other night as I tucked Mason into bed, he informed me of some very important information.

"mom, you see that note on my door?  its say no girls coming into my room."

"oh really?  but mom is a girl."

"that's okay, only ONE person" 

I feel so special to be the only girl that he'll let in.

Where in the world did he come up with this???

Oh, of course.

As he waves his flag in protest.

Let the games begin.

we got our garden

Benefit #1 of not moving....we got our garden!

The kids got a big pot and got to plant some flowers of their choice also.

Taylor dug her seeds up last year, so she's hoping this year her flowers will actually grow.

Lots of tomatoes, green peppers, yellow peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, lettuce, cucumbers, and zuchinni.

We definitely planted a bit later than usual, but hopefully it does better than last year!

playing in the rain

I think we've all been praying for rain for the farmers.  And we finally got some. But it was more like Mother Nature just let out a sneeze and then was done.  So I'm not sure how much help it really was.

But regardless, we took advantage of it.  Well, the kids.  Not me.

This was the first time they've really played in the rain.

 Mason never left the deck. 

Man, seeing the pure joy in her face makes me think about the little things that I take advantage of and miss finding the joy and fun in.

How can a 4 year old find so much joy in getting wet by a little teeny bit of rain? 

She just took it all in and loved every second.

If she only knew how much fun it could be when it POURS!

dog visitors

We've had some dog visitors here lately.

The kids got to dog-sit Papa and Nana's dog, Zach, for the weekend while they were gone.

He was treated like royalty.

And got all the best care, love and attention.

He rotated as the guest of honor in each bedroom for the night.

Poor Anni got kicked to the curb.

The same weekend we had another dog visitor.

This one was uninvited.

He came through the gap in the fence that has been cut so we can get to the Smith's house easily.

He just mozied into the yard.

He was BIG and HAIRY.  And later found out his name was Harley.

And as much as our kids love dogs, they were backed up to the house, shaking in their skin.

Taylor said she was a little confused and thought it was Zach who had grown a whole bunch (in a matter of minutes).

His owners (who we know) found him shortly.

But before he left, he thought he needed to cool off in the kids' pool.

I'll admit, I was freaking a little.

Dog claws hitting a blow-up pool.

When he got out there were big clumps of dog hair all over.

And the next day the high was suppossed to be 100.  I knew the kids would want to swim.

I knew we'd have to dump and refill the pool eventually, but I didn't expect it to be neccessary less than 24 hours later.  And this particular pool doesn't really drain anywhere.  And when it's full, you can't move it.

So being a good mom, at 10:30 the next morning, after my kids had their swimsuits on already, I got a bucket and started scooping out all of the water.  My first attempt was to have to kids do it.  But Mason lasted one scoop.  Taylor did pretty good, although half of her buckets she poured out onto the wall of the pool and most of the water came right back in the pool. When we got near the bottom I was able to move it enough to get it dumped over the side of the deck.  I was exhausted the rest of the day.  And my legs were sore all week.  This pregnant mom can't handle that kind of extreme exercise right now.

And sitting here typing this, I now am wondering why I didn't just release enough air to be able to collapse one side of the pool down enough to let all the water drain out over the edge.  Although that would have required me to figure out the air compressor to fill it back up.  Silly me.  All that work for nothing.

Next time should be much easier.

Or hopefully Anni and her dog friends will just stay out.

cubbies

This past school year Taylor got to participate in our church's AWANA program on Wednesday nights.

She was in Cubbies.  And she LOVED it!  She memorized her verses every week and begged to do the home apple tree activities.  Not having been in preschool this year, I think this was a FABULOUS thing for her!  It has been so precious hearing her learn God's word and be so excited about it.

We got our first taste of dropping her off and seeing her become independent and thrive around others.

The smile on her face every week as she walked into church, and the same smile each night that we picked her up, was priceless.

Last week was her awards night.

Her name was the very first name called to walk across the stage.

She was told she could go hug Cubby Bear (a guy in a big bear suit) at the other end of the stage, but she chose not to.  She was the only child that didn't.  Which is surprising from our little curageous one.  But being first is tough.  I don't think she had any idea what to expect.

And there's no better way to celebrate than ice cream with friends afterwards!

Way to go Taylor! 

Your first milestone of success, your first "graduation", your first completion of an activity.

As you start to step out and experience little tastes of this world on your own (even as simple as Wednesday nights at church on your own), we pray that God will be your beginning and your end.

This is only the beginning.

first swim of the summer

We decided the little pool we've had for the past few years wasn't gonna cut it anymore for our little waterbugs.

So Mason wanted to use his birthday money to buy a new pool.

The anticipation as Daddy got it ready was just too much to handle!

I kept telling them the water was going to be cold.



So we got the pool out, it got up to 100 degrees one day, and high 90's another.

And in good ole Kansas fashion, a few days later it was in the 50's.

So the pool sits lonely for now.

But that taste of summer was nice. And I think we are ready, so bring it on!

a book for the kids

A few months ago I ran across a special deal at Picaboo for a free classic custom photo book.  All I had to pay was shipping.  I knew right away what kind of book I wanted to make.  I was inspired months ago by the book my friend Andrea made, along with a discussion in my bible study of teaching our kiddos bible verses to live by. 

So I created this book and gave it to the kids for Easter...

The kids LOVE it!  They have already memorized and made a few of these applicable in daily life all on their own.  There is nothing sweeter than hearing our two precious kiddos quote God's word and begin to really understand how to use it in their lives.

Thanks for this cute idea Andrea!

mother's day

Thanks for all the congrats comments about our new little one!  We are VERY excited!  It's fun actually having kids that can understand (a little), and be excited.  When Mason was born, Taylor was 16 months old.  So she had no clue that my stomach was big, or that I had been sick for the first 3 months, or that a new baby was coming.  This time I get to answer questions.  Like...

how many more days till the baby comes?  (Mason asks this one every other day)

where is the baby at?

can the baby hear us?

can I feel the baby?

can we name the baby ______? (insert various names such as Bobby, Big Bird, Goody, and same made-up names) 

And of course they ask how the baby will come out.  For me that's an easy one.  All my babies get cut out of my tummy.  So that's easy to explain.  Some day when Taylor finds out it happens another way, she'll be shocked.  They are just concerned about the knives that the Dr. will use.

Official due date is Dec. 1.  We usually get to pick the date one week prior for a scheduled c-section.  That just happens to be Thanksgiving Day.  So we'll see what we end up picking.  Either way, I'm sure this child will have a Thanksgiving birthday some years.

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Our whole Mother's day weekend was fun!

Out to breakfast on Saturday morning.

Garage sales

Barn Sale

Car Show

Nap

 Handmade cards from the kids and Dave along with a SWEET surprise gift Sunday morning.

Lunch after church in Wichita (would have been better had Olive Garden not been almost a 2 hour wait)

Logan's Roadhouse was NOT even comparable and I don't think will see us ever again.

New DVD player for the car to help with our loooong road trip that is coming up

And then dinner cooked by my sweet hubby, along with the company of his parents too.

Pork Tenderloin, yummy potatoes, and corn on the cob.  And I didn't do a thing.

 Then Monday I felt awful.  The worst yet.

Thank goodness it was warm enough for the kids to swim.  They were in their swim suits at 10:30am and I planted myself outside on my comfy lounge chair all morning.

It was such a great weekend to reflect on the privelege of being Mommy to these 2 sweet kids.

And it was even sweeter to think of the little baby that will be joining our family in November.  Not only a precious gift to Dave and I, but such a sweet and exciting gift for Taylor and Mason also.

What a beautiful example of God's amazing love, grace, and goodness.

one more thing from easter

Taylor and Mason decided to make some cute Easter cards for their grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles.

They wanted to share with all of you too...

They can hardly wait for Thanksgiving time to get here!