A Scrapbook of Sorts

April 3, 2010

What Happens When...

the mom leaves the dirty clothes hamper too close to the crib, and the baby gets into it while falling asleep.

This was Jonathan's Christmas (or birthday?) gift from his grandma and grandpa Don. We waited to send for the caterpillars until now in hopes that the weather would be plenty warm by the time our caterpillars had turned into butterflies. Hopefully that will be true. We're excited to witness their metamorphosis! The caterpillars are living in the bathroom for now since Jonathan can look at them often in there but probably not be as tempted to move them around or otherwise disturb them.

And playing with the magnifying glass is pretty fun, too!

April 2, 2010

Preparing for Easter

If you are looking for an Easter tradition and a great way to teach your little ones about Jesus' death and resurrection, read my friend Jen's directions here. Jen knows just how to communicate truths to preschoolers, and I always know that my kids will learn something new and have a great time when we go to her house. (I was not an Early Childhood Education major...another reason I'm thankful for people like her who are gifted in that area!) I'm going to have to try the rolls tomorrow. We have been telling the Bible story a lot, and Jonathan can tell us all about it, but we haven't done anything crafty yet!

Grace's Dedication

The day after Grace's birthday party, we had her dedication. We had originally planned to have it the last time John and Cheryl were here, which was last December. However, my dad was in the hospital that Sunday, so we postponed it until all the grandparents could be present.

I had to include this picture because Grace is gesturing up at the ceiling fans and saying "ffff," which is the main word she says besided "mama." "Fffff" applies to fans and anything else up in the air, including lights and balloons.

A baby dedication is actually more of a parent dedication than a baby dedication. We, as parents, dedicate ourselves to raising the children God has blessed us with to know Jesus and have faith in him. The pastor and congregation pray with us and for us and agree to support us as we raise our children to know God. And Jonathan and Grace will make the choice to follow Him when they are ready. We are so thankful for God's help and the help of others, because we certainly can't do any of this on our own!

I thought I might tear up during this significant time, but I managed to keep it together. Possibly because I was thinking about keeping Jonathan from performing a little show of his own? However, this song we sang by Bebo Norman did touch my heart, so I thought I'd include a link to it here:

I Will Lift My Eyes

To see posts about Jonathan's dedication, you can look at March 2005, then go waaay down to the bottom. Jeff and I were very new to blogging and to parenthood!

Today's Adventure

Today, we took a family road trip to see some old friends. One of our dear friends from two towns ago is within driving distance visiting her family, so we jumped at the chance to see her. Michele and her four kiddos are in the area, and it was so great to see her, although we missed seeing her husband, Thom. He's home holding down the fort and remodeling the bathroom, among other things! Michele, Anabelle, Carey Mae, Hamilton, and Ricky are staying with Michele's sister and her three kids. So, with our two, there was a crew of nine kids in the house, ages 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 3, 1, and 1. Things were hopping, to say the least! I'll post some fun pictures soon. And if you are ever out here within driving distance of our home and wonder whether we'd drive to see you, we would! We'd jump at the chance, just like we did today. To see previous visits, see June 2007 and December 2006.

Jeff and I had fun doing some grownup chatting and catching up, Grace enjoyed eating and napping, and Jonathan was enamored with 9-year-old Riley's Legos. She was very gracious to share with him and also to teach him a few things on their Wii. Jonathan had been saving up for the Fire Helicopter set, which will take him a few months, but he has changed his mind and set his sights on the Galactic Enforcer. It's for age 7-12, but he is convinced that he can handle it. It will take him many, many, many months, but he has a very focused personality and I'm sure he'll do it if he decides to do it.