April 16, 2019, at 4:55 pm | A while back, Grammie gave the kids a bunch of wonderful craft kits that she knew would come in handy on a rainy day. The boys especially really got into the pirate ship construction:
Danny showing off his finished product (and wiggly tooth)!:
Jimmy customized his with fabric sails he cut himself:
The boys immediately drew a bath to water-test their creations. They realized they had to modify the ships to help them stay upright, so they expertly rubber-banded wooden blocks on either side of the boats to provide more flotation. I was very impressed with the engineering (it reminded me of their Grandpa!). They blew through straws to simulate wind. Jimmy had to go through some acrobatics to get close enough to blow directly onto the sails, as you can see:
And as you may have guessed, he fell into the bath! I wish I had captured it on camera but I was laughing too hard!
April 14, 2019, at 10:26 pm | When I stop in amazement to think about how gracious the Lord has been to our family, there are several things that top the list: My salvation, my husband, and having FIVE amazing kids. But specifically, something that makes me shake my head in wonder is how richly the Lord has blessed our family through our adoption of Tazie. When I think of all the children in the world that He could have brought into our home, I’m so, so, so thankful that He brought us Tazie. This child is our sunshine.
At our family party for her 3rd birthday, she was giddy with excitement at all the Doc McStuffins gifts she was given. She flitted from one toy to the next, joyously playing with everything and giving everyone “checkups” with her new doctor suit and tools. She bounced joyfully on her new indoor trampoline, spent time with her new puzzles, and basically relished every minute of her party surrounded by her adoring siblings. When she was happily chowing down on the beloved “Doc McStuffins birthday cake” that she’d been dreaming of for months, she looked up at me and said, completely unprompted, “Thank you for the birthday, Mom.”
The thing is, I can’t take credit for her having a birthday. I didn’t give her life. But God, in His infinite wisdom, gave her life, and gave her to us. So we have the privilege of throwing this precious girl a birthday party. I pray that she will one day receive His gift of eternal life, and we will have a celebration that lasts forever.
April 10, 2019, at 9:31 pm | Speaking of dental work, Becky’s teeth require a bit more finesse than Susie’s, so she still has her braces for a while longer. But we’re getting closer to the finish line now that Becky had six baby teeth removed so her adult teeth could come in properly. Both she and I were really nervous about the teeth extraction, but she came through it with flying colors. I was SO impressed with her good attitude both before and after the procedure.
See? Here’s her smile moments before entering the office:
And here’s her smile a few hours after! You can’t see it, but her mouth was now full of holes! She was such a trooper!
April 9, 2019, at 11:44 am | Susie was thrilled to get her braces removed a while back. She now wears a retainer full-time, and then will get a full set of braces when her adult teeth are all in position. She’s certainly enjoying the reprieve!
April 7, 2019, at 9:20 pm | Staying true to my several-months-behind posting schedule, here’s Valentine’s Day! 😉
I surprised the kids with Costco muffins on the morning of Valentine’s day (along with homework the boys had forgotten to complete!):
Here’s Tazie being very excited that Danny shared some of his candy with her:
And for the first time this year, I gave each kid a mailbox in which their siblings put nice notes every day for the prior few weeks. I had told the kids they should write something they liked about each other on the notes, and they did a great job (aside from a few notes that said things like, “You are not irritating most of the time.” LOL!).
Aww! I just love all the love!
April 3, 2019, at 10:27 pm | We packed a lot of fun into the end of our winter, including Danny’s 1st grade concert. Here he is kidding around with his buddy in the back row:
The best cheering section!
Dan the music man:
Susie’s training as a future businesswoman continued as she drafted this contract. The text reads: “We as the children, pledge to do our chores, obey our parents, and be the best we can. But we need more freedom and electronic time. It is only fair. If you agree with this paper, and you are a child, please sign below.” Note that Jimmy conditioned his signature with a “sort of” (he was holding out for unlimited electronic time).
Becky prepared for a career in art (or cartography?) by creating this fun fantasyland map:
Jimmy prepared for a career in manual labor by grabbing a little sledgehammer and pounding away at the ice in the yard for fun:
And Susie added to our fish family by buying a beta she named Ginny:
 
April 1, 2019, at 12:03 pm | Becky and I share a love of beautiful scenery, especially sunsets. I can always count on her to be looking at the horizon in the evening to spot the last few rays of soft color. However, both she and I agree that the most beautiful scene we’ve EVER encountered happened earlier this year during an unexpected ice storm in our town. Every tree limb on every street sparkled like it was hung with diamonds. It was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. On my way through town, I even looped back around so I could drive again down a few particularly stunning streets. For some reason, cameras couldn’t capture the light properly, so these photos don’t represent the half of it. But here they are anyway so you can get an idea!
 
See how happy Becky looks? That’s a testament to how beautiful it was outside, given how cold she was!
We also had a few more snow days that let the kids get a bit of outdoor play in. It wasn’t a lot of snow, but they made the best of it!
     
March 27, 2019, at 11:51 am | We didn’t end up with many snow days this year (yet! I guess we’re not officially out of the woods!), but we had a lot of fun on the few days we were stuck home!
We played lots of games:
Had tea parties:
Played exuberant games of Spoons:
Did lots of puzzles:
Made lots of hot cocoa:
And yes, indulged in some electronics time:
Good times!
March 24, 2019, at 11:25 pm | Tazie loves loves loves music, and she loves to sing along to songs. She’s also started making up her own songs. I typically can’t make out the lyrics to her own creations, but last week, she was quite articulate. I have no idea why she chose to juxtapose these two ideas, but she thought they made the perfect song:
“Jesus is a strong man / He heals people’s foots and calms them down. / When I don’t eat eggs, I get disciplined and kick Danny.”
(And for the record, she does NOT get disciplined for not eating eggs. However, she does for kicking her brother!)
March 22, 2019, at 9:56 pm | I can barely find Tazie in her crib amongst all her favorite stuffed animals lately! And since this photo was taken, she also likes to fall asleep with a blue blanket draped over her head. This girl likes to be cozy!
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ABOUT US I'm blessed to be saved by the grace of God, loved by my wonderful husband Jim, and embraced by my twin girls, Rebecca Faith and Susanna Joy and my sons Jimmy and Danny. I started this blog in May 2008 when I was hospitalized for pre-term labor at 24 weeks gestation. The Lord allowed me to keep the girls inside until they were 34 weeks along, and on July 27th, Rebecca made her debut, followed by Susanna, five minutes later, on July 28th. We ecstatically welcomed Jimmy into our lives on April 25th, 2011, and Danny on August 31, 2012. This blog has been a personal journal of faith and motherhood and the only way I can remember which child did what and when. Thanks for stopping by to share in my Faith and Joy! Feel free to e-mail me at: [email protected]. |
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