Our last weekend with "Just the Big Kids"

It hit me last week that this was going to be our last weekend with just big kids. Tuesday, our world will change. It will be new. It will be different. It will be good. Everything will be okay, I just have to realize that it's our new normal.

I really wanted to spend some time doing fun stuff with the kids Saturday to celebrate just how big they've become. They are able to do so many things and I have really been enjoying the stages that they are at right now. They've gone from 'little-kids-that-I-have-to-take-everywhere-with-me' to 'big-kids-who-come-places-with-us'. They require so much less hands-on maintenance now, but much more conversation and social interaction. More than ever, their personalities are coming out in the way they act and play and talk to others on a daily basis. They really are neat little kids!

We woke up late yesterday morning, so we went for late breakfast/lunch at IHOP. We chowed down on some pancakes and eggs, then decided to go putt-putting. We took them last summer, and they remembered it when we pulled up. We had so much fun as a family! They still had a few pretty terrible shots, but several of their turns were actually really good!!! It was amazing the amount of control and concentration they've gained in less than a year! I didn't take a ton of pics, but here are a few...

I absolutely love the times that I just focus on enjoying and loving my kids! They are such special gifts from God! Saturday night a friend watched Lawson and Jordan so Jon and I could go out on a date. We stopped in a book store for a while and as I was flipping through a book I found this quote that I love:

The Psalms call children a "reward." Not a curse, not a tragedy, not an accident--they are the expressions of God's favor. It is a thrilling right to see your children through the lens of Scriptures as His trophies.
--Howard Hendricks

I think this is so true! Some days I can get so caught up in frustration, exhaustion and focus on some of the negative things in my life, but when I can keep myself focused on the abundance of blessing that has been poured into my life it changes how I see everything! My kids definitely are a blessing in my life--if they are indeed expressions of God's favor, then I am humbled at how much favor he saw fit to give me!

We are now only a day away from our "Baby Day" and we are all SO excited to meet our sweet new baby...but I am grateful for this time we spent together as a family-of-four this weekend!

Self-Entertaining

These last couple weeks, I have just had a declining amount of energy (wonder why??!!)! Luckily when I need to rest in the afternoons, my kids have been able to entertain themselves and play together to pass the time. They have been coming up with all sorts of things to do, and I've been entertained by watching them play together so well!

From swinging to playing pirates on the swingset, from jumping on the trampoline to coloring the driveway with chalk. The other day was a rainy day and I was trying to get laundry and dishes done--they had been quiet for a while which sometimes causes me a little bit of alarm! They had been playing in their rooms for a while, but when I peeked in, I saw them sitting on Jordan's bed and Lawson was reading her a book. I think they were looking at the pictures more than reading the story, but it was sweet. Not too much later, I heard giggling and then they came out to the kitchen. Lawson held his hands out like he was making a grand presentation, and Jordan walked in like she was the hottest model on the runway! He had put her play make-up all over her eyebrows and lips, and she had put on a ton of jewelry and 'fixed' her hair! They were SO proud of themselves! I had to take a picture of the, ahem, artwork!

First Tee-Ball Game 2011

When I told Jordan that she had a tee-ball game to play, she threw a fit not wanting to play. We have gone around and around--she wanted to play when it was time to sign up, but now she doesn't. We're making her play. We told her she doesn't have to sign up for anything, but if she signs up, she will play. Turns out that once we got her out there and started, she did great and had a lot of fun! She was a little grumpy for a while, but I was able to get some cute pictures by telling her that she was so grumpy that I wanted to take a picture of her grumpy face...so what did she do? Start smiling. She thought she was tricking me, but who got the cute pictures? ;)

Little Slugger

In the dugout

Hopefully the rest of the season will go smoothly!

Falls Mill

The kids and I were able to participate in a field trip about an hour away in Tennessee with our home school group. It was a really neat field trip and a great way to get back into a routine after all the craziness of the storms that passed through April 27th. We enjoyed learning about the old machines and the history behind this very old mill that is still completely water-powered. We heard explanations and saw demonstrations of the mill grinding oats and grits, how thread is spun, how material is woven, and how the mill can operate so many machines. It was a beautiful day and we learned a lot!