Would I?

Would I have let my firstborn do this?

or this?

I hope I didn't ruin Sam because I was too strict or too afraid to let him run loose. Being out of control is the norm around here now. ☺

lunchtime

their personalities shine through even at lunchtime.

sam studies the goldfish bag

laney relaxes in more than one highchair position

luke says "cheese" for the camera

our picnic

We went to a local playground yesterday to play and have a little picnic. It was such a beautiful day!

Luke wore Ron's hat around for a while

I don't know why Sam is making that face, but I love it.

Laney crawled over to Luke's plate and ate a little of his frosted Animal Cracker. She got a taste of the good stuff for sure...

I wanted to get a picture of the kids before we left. I love that they all have such different personalities. You can see it in their faces.

Invisible God

I give you praise, O Great Invisible God,

for the moon in the space of a dark night,

for the smile on a face in the sunlight.

I give you praise, O Great Invisible God,

for the sound of the storm on the window,

for the morning adorned with a new snow,

for the tears on the face of the old man

made clean by the grace of the good Lamb.

And oh, I long to see your face, Invisible God.

All the works that you have made are clearly seen

and plain as day, so mighty and tender.

O Lord, let me remember

that I see you everywhere, Invisible God,

your power eternal, your nature divine.

All creation tells the tale that Love is real and so alive.

I feel you, I hear you, Great God Unseen I see you

in the long, cold death that the winter brings

and the sweet resurrection spring.

Invisible God.

-Andrew Peterson

Sam felt like such a big boy yesterday. One of his friends from school got to ride home with us, so he and Sam could eat lunch and play together. They had a blast. Luke even got in on the fun while they were "racing". They started at the front door and ran circles around the house.

funny story, funny picture

we are outside often enough that we've developed nice little friendships with some of the the neighborhood walkers. ms. dot is an older lady who lives with her daughter just down the road. she walks their dog snowball around quite often. a few weeks ago she asked me if she could make a bonnet for laney. i quickly said yes and told her how special that would be. a few nights ago she and her granddaughter came to deliver laney's bonnet. i promised her i'd get a picture of her in it and send it to her...

when we went outside to play today, i took the camera and bonnet to get a picture for ms. dot. 2 of my neighbors were out and i filled them in on the hat's significance. one neighbor, who is quite a riot, said "you know, she kinda' looks like one of them holiness people".... oh my, that is funny!

Easter

I enjoyed a simple Easter. Spending time with my husband and kids realizing the impressive nature of our God.

One of the things I chose not to let define Easter: the kids' clothes. I bought a precious blue plaid material to make shorts for the boys and a dress for Laney. I realized I wasn't going to finish the dress and decided that was okay. It wasn't that important. My goal is to finish it by picture time in a few weeks. The boys dressed alike and looked adorable walking in to church holding hands.

Sam opened an egg with chocolate and squealed "I love chocolate". This is his happy egg dance...

Luke enjoyed eating the jellybeans

And wearing Laney's new sunglasses

Laney enjoyed eating a little of the Styrofoam plate.

After the egg hunt, we read the Easter story from the Jesus Storybook Bible.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

saturday

today's sunday. i honestly can't remember what we did yesterday. i guess just a little of this and a little of that. ron and i went on a dinner date; i do remember that. it was nice getting out for a couple of hours alone.

yesterday brought a new boo boo for laney. she likes to sit up and play with this wooden toy i got at ikea. it's really for younger babies to lay under and play with the toys that hang down. well, she was playing with it, somehow lost her balance, and fell backwards. she kept holding on to it and it landed on her right between the eyes. she screamed bloody murder for a few minutes, but was back to having fun shortly after that.

lunch with friends

i went to a friend's house for lunch today. 5 friends from church were there with their kids. 6 moms and 13 kids! it was quite a party! laney enjoyed the sun, but not for long. her arms were so hot and red after a few minutes. i ended up letting her hang with me and the other girls under the covered porch.

ashley took a few pictures of our time together. i just love the picture of all the kids. sam is so tickled to be with his friends; he has the most genuine laugh and smile. and luke makes me laugh leaning in to the picture to say "cheese". and notice laney chewing on a branch from their tree. there were only 3 plastic eggs out there for the babies, so i gave her the branch. i enjoyed it; but i really loved that my kids enjoyed it!