Easter!

We celebrated Easter twice this weekend, and it was quite fun!  We went up to my grandparents on Saturday, and then the girls went home with Randa and Eric for the night, which was a fun surprise for all of us!  Here are some pictures from that:

LB collected 3 eggs before the hunt started, and then while he was supposed to be collecting eggs, he picked up pine cones, mulch, and some leaves.  Whatever works.  Because of that, we didn't wait for him to hunt eggs Sunday:)

What's that?  You noticed a giant white egg in the yard?  Here is a closer look:

Some people apparently aren't aware of what is supposed to happen during egg hunts.

Then we had the annual picture that we keep adding children to:

Fun times:)

Pnut's Concert

I forgot to post about Pnut's concert from last Friday.  We went to the concert at Christmas, and it was nice, but this one was even neater.  The kids were also allowed to do talent things.  It was amazing. 

Pnut was so cute up on stage.  She is in the back row because she is one of the tallest.  This is a kindergarten and 1st grade choir!  And we don't think of her as tall so I was surprised.

This is the full choir.  There are some very talented mothers in our co-op who direct this!

Interspersed throughout the choir's selections were the talent portions.  I, being the think-ahead person I am, didn't take pictures except of the last four performers.

Many of the children played instruments.  There were just a few piano players and lots of violinists, which was amazing.  Several of them got up and played without any music and just knocked my socks off!

This little girl played the ukulele and was really cute. 

There were also recitations.  It brought back too many memories of speech class and made my heart race and the fear of throwing up.

This was a group of four young men who played piano, violin, guitar, drums, and they sang.  They did a great job! 

I was just so impressed with the kids and also so thankful for the families in our co-op.  It has been a fun year!

First Picnic of 2012!

We had our first picnic today.  We went without coats because while I was hanging out the clothes the sun was shining and very warm and there wasn't too much of a breeze.  By the time we got to the playground, the sun was behind a bunch of clouds and there was a brisk wind.  So we were quite chilly while we ate but warmed up as we moved around afterwards.  Then the sun came back out. 

(Aren't these pink trees gorgeous?)  The girls were quite excited to have a picnic as they have been asking for a while.

I have learned not to pack too much food as everyone is easily distracted and has a hard time eating all of lunch.

Especially her.

LB did quite well just sitting and eating.  He, of course, didn't eat his sandwich, but he ate his banana and fishies and drank his water.  I think he is boycotting PB&J as he will eat bread with butter.  Does he belong to me?  My children eat PB&J every day without fuss.

We ended up spending two hours at the playground and came home to some excellent naps.  Especially LB, I got him right before 5:00.

The girls each made a friend while they were at the playground.  Pnut knew her friend's name.  Pilly referred to her's as the red girl as she had on red pants and shirt.  So polite.  And LB was a maniac and in and out of everything and ate some mulch.  Yum.

Rambles

Did you every notice how squeaky clean the new spring grass is?  It is so thick and fresh; it has not yet been withered by the summer sun.  I love spring!  We went along to Joel's softball practice tonight and walked across a few fields to get to playground.  LB was swishing and squeaking through the grass.  His poor short little legs don't go very fast, but they are darling! 

After some math trouble today, I am again reminded to relax and remember that Pnut is only 5.  She was adding two to two digit numbers and having a bit of a hard time doing just mental math instead of using the abacus.  After emailing RightStart, I was advised that she can continue to use the abacus if she still needs and given some tips for transitioning her to more mental math.  I've never contacted them for support before, but their reply was so quick, helpful, and reassuring!  I am very pleased with this program.

LB was picking on another 15-month-old at the playground today.  Every time the other boy would come up to him, LB would scream and run away.  His poor mother.  She didn't know what to think.  What to do with these kids?!

Hopefully tomorrow I will remember to take some pictures!  The sky has been such a beautiful blue against the emerald green of the grass.  Again, I love spring!

Speech and Hearts

We took a walk downtown with some good friends today and went to a store that sells craft stuff for super cheap because it is donated and then to a little cafe where we can get authentic croissants.  I thought they made them there, but they actually get them shipped in from France.  Isn't that crazy?  They are really good!  It was fun, the kids had a ball! 

In Sunday School, we have been going through a book about relationships, and yesterday we were talking about the power of words.  Words reflect what it is in your heart.  I think the verse that says "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" gives such a great word picture.  It is like a stream spilling over, showing exactly what is inside of you.  It is extremely convicting.  Every careless or thoughtless word has weight.  I've been praying about being humble and it seems that the way the Lord is going to do it (which is good) is by continually revealing areas in my life that are just full of sin.  And this is a major one!  The one leader really put it well when he said it is a continual cycle, the things we see and hear affect our hearts which affect our speech which then affect the things we see and hear.  (That, of course, is not as well put.)  It's a lot to think about.

So now I am going to go think about it some more.  Have a great night!

The Sweetness of Sisters

LB is spoiled rotten by his sisters.  For example:

That is Pilly's lollipop.  She didn't have to give him any bites at all, but she chose to, and once you start, it is hard to stop.  That boy ate over half of her lollipop and followed her around the house squawking at her.  She never got impatient with him but just kept sharing. 

Everyone keeps telling me it will end, but it hasn't stopped yet!  I'm thankful for the sweetness of my children:)

I can't believe it is only Wednesday.  This seems like a really long week for some reason.  It hasn't been bad, just long.

We cleaned for my mom today, and the girls got to play outside a little.  Pnut wasn't feeling very well and complained all day that her belly hurt.  Hopefully she wakes up feeling better tomorrow because I don't know what to do.  Eating doesn't seem to have an affect, and it doesn't seem that it is related to the bathroom in any way.  I squeezed her belly and released it to check for appendicitis, and she said that didn't change the feeling at all.  I don't know, it is so hard to know what to do!

LB discovered ketchup and BBQ sauce tonight, which he loves!  He repeatedly dipped a french fry and sucked it off.  Disgusting but hilarious!

It is almost 9::00 and I haven't even gotten anything done at home today and I'm ready for bed!  Oh brother...