Friday, March 30, 2012

Our little guy

This picture is just so precious!  Here's my little fella, just turned 2, with his faithful sidekick, Blue Bear (aka Ka-Blue-ey).  His true comfort is that hand.  He does not suck his thumb or finger, but rather the meaty part at the base of the thumb.  Has since he was 3 months old.  And if that isn't so, so cute, I ask you, what in the wide world is??  LOL!
We love our Little Rig!

Awana Grand Prix

 Well, better late than never!  Grand Prix was 2 weeks ago and here are our proud contestants!

For design, we took a different approach this year.  Since Dwayne had 3 cars to cut out, we just had to simplify.  He took all the car kits, no kids.  He decided on some shapes that he was willing to cut and he cut them out.  He brought them home and let the kids' imaginations go from there.

Marian's car was in the shape of a capital "I".  We detailed it with the message, "I Speed. HI Speed."  (Clever, right?)  She won 3rd place for speed!  See how excited she is?

Andrew's was in the shape of an arrow.  The only detailing needed after the paint was the fletching at the back end.  He won 1st place for design.  Yay!

Ellie's car was in the shape of... a really fast car! :) She wanted lightning bolts painted on it, so I helped her with that and also wrote "Flash" down the side.  She did not win a prize for speed or design.  Must be something wrong with those judges! LOL!  Nonetheless, she was so thrilled to compete in her first Awana Grand Prix!  
I am proud of all our racers, 
as well as their pit crew (Dwayne!) and detail artist (me!)!
Marian's car
Andrew's car
Ellie's car

Speaking of spring...

We have five new guests at our house!!  
They arrived a little more than two weeks ago as creepy-crawly caterpillars, but have undergone a curious change.  Last Saturday morning, we noticed they were all wrapped up and hanging upside down in their jar.  So we have carefully moved them into their new habitat as you see here, and we anxiously await the next change... this time a magnificent one!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:
The old has gone, the new IS HERE! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Tulips and Spring

O, how I love spring!  And summer.  And fall.  And... well, sometimes I have to really work on being thankful for winter!  

Even though the winter has been mild, I am so thankful for the official start of spring!  The tulips are in full bloom, actually a little beaten by the wind over the past few days, but still beautiful!  

Most of the trees are leafed out, the birds are busy, and it is so hard to stay inside to beat out the last few "must-do's" of the school year!  

Whoever decided to make the school year 180 days long really should have thought better of it!  
I wonder.  Did that person ever have a garden of spring tulips?



Thursday, March 29, 2012

Pizza!

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit a local Pizza Hut with some homeschool friends.  The kids were so excited to see behind the scenes!  We toured the kitchen, the walk-in cooler, and the proofer for the dough. But best of all, we all had the thrill of crafting our own personal pizzas!
Look at all those topping options!
Our family makes pizzas at home from time to time, but never with such a selection of toppings nor so many nifty gadgets to use!
Fresh from the oven!

Everyone was impressed with the gigantic oven and loved watching the pizzas go in and come out on that slow-moving conveyor.   The kids from youngest to smallest (well, except for Reagan) did everything from start to finish.  We each put our pizza in the oven and took it out. (No potholders here, no! Yet another nifty gadget!)  And we sliced our own pizza with a huge rocker blade.  That may not be the technical term for the tool you see Andrew using, but it was enough to make this mama suck in her breath... especially considering Andrew's less-than-stellar history with knives.  But that's a story for another post!
BIG BLADE, little pizza!
We all had a really fun time.  Marian was ready to fill out an application for a job on the spot!
Many thanks to Marie and her able crew!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Happy Birthday, Reagan!

 What joyous celebration yesterday!  Baby birthdays are always so fun!  
No expectations, just fun surprises!
The older kids were all in agreement about what type of cake Rig should have-- chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!  Who am I to disagree when so outnumbered? :) 
It has become our tradition to show the birthday child's age with candy decorations on the cake: 
Dots candy this time.  Big hit with the 10 & under bunch. :)
Reagan had lots of help blowing out his candles-- 
aren't older siblings grand?
But of course he needed no help eating his cake! 
(Cleaning up on the other hand....*grin*)

For presents, some toys for the sandbox and a t-ball set.  Perfect for a little boy always wanting to go "shide" (outside).
The kids made the sweetest cards for their little brother and gave him presents from their own toys... cars, army men, a phone... so sweet.

Marian and Andrew took turns with the camera (most of the pics here are from them), which made them really feel 'big'.

... and a good time was had by all!!! 





Monday, March 19, 2012

2nd Birthday, 1st Haircut

Cool Dude!
What a blue-eyed cutie!!
First Haircut!

He's just turned 2 today and just had his 1st haircut last week... on the porch, in the spring evening.

My Reagan, my youngest, my last.  

 I know he will not always delight our hearts in every action.  After all, he is my blood, my flesh, a sinner.  But I pray that, in the bigger picture, he will be a blessing to his family and friends, those in his circle.

More on the birthday celebration tomorrow...


Field trip

Spring has come early here in Tennessee.  At least for a visit.  I know everyone is holding their breath.  Will we get a late cold snap?  Everything is greening up so early.  Will winter sneak back in and kill all the buds and blooms, stunting crops?  Only God knows.  Only God controls.  But we can get out and take full advantage, revel in this beauty that never gets old, year after year.  
The kids and I took a trip across the field several days ago and came upon a stream we hadn't known was there. Wondrous discovery!
 From my childhood, I have many happy memories of playing in the streams around our house.  Never was there a playground that offered so many hours of endless fascination!

 We have a couple ponds here on the farm, but this stream is "just right" for this mama bear-- deep enough for the older kids to wade, dig, dam up, discover, but shallow enough for Little Rig's safety.
 In the days since this first discovery, I have even let all four of them return without me... with stern warnings to keep eyes on their little brother!  Of course, with Mini-Mama and Mini-Papa (aka, Marian & Andrew) on duty, I am leaving him in pretty good hands!
 It is a precious thing, a thing I never tire of, to see my children caring for each other.  It makes me smile... and cry.


Sunday, March 18, 2012

Back on track... finally!


There's just something about a little boy in a cowboy hat... and a pink phone.  Ya gotta love it!
It's been two weeks since we were all so sick... yes, I say all.  Before that bug left this house it bit all of us.  We are so relieved to be well, but it has taken me awhile to get back to my blog.  Sick or not, life just does not stop!  (Amen?)  
Through all this, I have been reading a book about thankfulness, and starting to look for those little moments, comments, happenings, things that fill my life with blessing.  Of course, we know that every good thing is of our good God, right?  In this book, in the challenge that it offers, it is becoming my goal to be more intentional in giving thanks back to God for all things He puts in my life.  The good stuff is easy.  The bad stuff... He's working on me. *grin*
So here's a picture of some of that good stuff!
Two youngest, laughing, loving
For more of the good stuff in my life, take a look at my page, "My Cup Runneth Over".  The tab's at the top of this page.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Weak of stomach, beware!

As if I needed to be clearly shown the differences in personalities of my second and third born...  :)

We have been struck by some sort of stomach bug this week.  It started with Andrew on Wednesday evening, then Ellie woke with it on Thursday morning, then Reagan was sick at midnight that night.  So far, Marian is the only child to escape... so far, I say.

On Wednesday evening, after Andrew's first episode, we put him to bed, trying to make him as comfortable as possible.  He didn't talk much (typical) except to ask for a drink or for something cool for his head.  He usually didn't even let us know when he was making a mad dash to the bathroom.  Thankfully, he slept fine all night and was better on Thursday morning except for a fever which soon passed.

Ellie, on the other hand, was not fine on Thursday morning.  After her first upset, we made her as comfortable as possible on the couch.  At which she remarked, "Well, I don't like being sick, but I sure do like being taken care of!"  She was sick all day yesterday, poor thing, her whole body wrenched with dry heaves.  Every time she ran to the bathroom, she would yell, "Mom!  I think I'm going to throw up!!"  Sometime that afternoon, she told me she felt like "a popped balloon".  I tried not to laugh.  This morning, her stomach woes were over and she told me, "I threw up seven times!"  I told her that I was so sorry that she had been sick and glad that she was feeling better.  But pity was not what she was looking for.  She added, "I'm just glad I didn't throw up any more than seven times!"  If no one else can find that elusive silver lining, Ellie sure can!

(By the way, besides being a bit fussy today, Reagan seems to have recovered already.  Thanks be to God!)