Enter May...

We have had such a beautiful start to the month. A few showers here and there and some overcast skies but some really beautiful days mixed in. Don't worry, we have taken full advantage of them! And with rain being a possibility for, at least, the next few days, I am so glad we did!

But, there has been a down side to all our outdoor time. Ticks, ticks, and more ticks. I do believe we are farming them here. On average I pull two ticks off of each kid, each day we enjoy outside time (sometimes more, sometimes less). On the up side (if you want to call it that), I have become a professional tick puller.

 During some of this great weather, the kids and I built an awesome fort, complete with roof. I had to teach them the art of a stick fort. It's really like a mix between the game of pick-up-sticks and Janga. Everything is woven together so it holds, but if you take one out, you might make the whole think fall. Lol! No need to worry though, it is perfectly safe! :)

I am a little embarrassed over this next fact. Alysabeth is almost 9-years-old and I still have not taught her how to ride a bike! How could this have happened? As a kid I rode bike everywhere! Unfortunately, the bike I have been working with her on this year is a bit on the small side. It is taking some time, and she gets plenty frustrated but I am convinced she will learn. :)

Overall the kids have been in good health and enjoying a great spring! However, days like today (rain), do happen. But, even though it puts a damper on things (literally), it has been great for our grass, and I am looking forward to watching everything bloom!

Last Friday, we headed up to Great-Grandmother's house for her birthday. Ninty-two years old and still getting around the house without any assistive devices. Wonderful to see. I can only hope to be in such good condition should I ever reach her age. We took pictures and ate ice cream and a wonderful time! Such a wonderful, loving woman, and the kids adore her.

The day after I noticed that Katie was spending a lot of time looking in the mirror. Back and forth she would go each time getting really upset, so I had to ask her about it. It turned out that our dear little girl had her hopes up. She wanted white hair, just like Great-Grandma, and she kept hoping that her hair would change. When it was time for bed and she had checked one more time she said, with much desperation, "My hair is going to be brown to-ever!"

I just love the little things our kids say!

God Bless!

Awana Awards Night!

The kids had their final night of Awana on Wednesday and had the chance to sing on stage and receive their awards. They had a fun time and so did we!

The little cubbies were first. As you will see, Katie seems somewhat into the singing, somewhat distracted. Haha! But, most of them were that way I guess. :) We had a large crew and I think they were all a little enamored to be on stage.

After the little ones sang and received their awards it was the Sparks turn. Here are both Nathan and Beth singing with their group.

The Sparks group was so large that they had them divided into several different groups, and they came up to receive their award with their group. Beth and Nathan were in different groups so here are their groups being awarded.

It was a fun night! I don't think Nathan truly realizes that we won't be doing this again for a few months. I caught him getting something together to give his teacher yesterday. He sure loves it there! Really, they all do!

God Bless!!

One Fun, Busy Week!

The kiddos received a package from Grandma in Texas this week full of all kinds of goodies! A movie for Nathan, earrings for Beth, and a necklace and Easter nails for Katie! You can't tell by the picture that she loved them, can you? Lol!

On Thursday night, after bath, I braided Beth's hair. She had been begging me ever since she first noticed how curly Katie's hair was after her braid came out. (Katie wants her hair in a braid after every bath! Though, I have only ever done a single french braid.) So, to make sure it was really curly we did a bunch of them. :) Now, Curly Sue was pretty tired for this next photo, since it was very early that next morning, but here she is!

On Friday night we spent the evening with my Dad, my sister, and my brother-in-law. My mom, being in South Carolina, couldn't come.

On Saturday morning we had pancakes, and the kiddos and I attempted making a few animals. One for each kid. You know, it's a lot harder then it looks!! A much bigger spatula is essential for flipping these big awkward things!

Of course, a giraffe for Nathan. His favorite animal. :)

A horse for Beth.

And a kitty for the Katie. :)

And then, that afternoon and evening, we hung out with Scott, Missy and their family. Yummy homemade corn dogs were on the menu!! :)

Easter morning we all got up early. The kids discovered their baskets. Nathan was the first bugger up and, surprisingly, I actually had to remind him to look at his basket. So, with Nathan making all kinds of excited squeals, the other kids weren't far behind. :)

Well, sad to say, I didn't get a picture of any of the kids dressed up for Easter service. I have no idea what I was thinking! But, anyway, that morning, we enjoyed a breakfast put on by the youth group of eggs, pancakes, sausage, and bacon, and an excellent sermon. The kids had a special Easter Sunday school. It is so important to stress the true meaning of this wonderful day! Then heading home we had Easter dinner and naturally ate more then we should. The kids, however, got to work off their meal with an Easter egg hunt, and now we officially have way too much candy! :D The kids would seriously disagree with that last statement, but trust me, its true!

I've managed to cram a lot into one post! We've apparently been pretty busy!

God Bless! And hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland...

Amazing to wake up this morning to see somewhere between 6 and 8 inches of snow on the ground! In April! Old Man Winter sure is having a hard time letting go. But regardless, it was absolutely beautiful. I have to admit, I love fresh snow. You know, the kind that is just wet enough to cling to all the branches. Breath taking!

Though, more snow is predicted for Friday, I know it won't be long before everything is green! We are all looking forward to that! Especially Nathan, who told me yesterday, "It's like we're stuck in a pattern! Spring, Winter, Spring, Winter, Spring, Winter!" He said this very unhappily, I must add. :)

On a different note... Alysabeth had more teeth work done on Monday. Poor girl was pretty sore the past few days as they had to do a baby root canal and put on a silver cap. She, unfortunately, will have much to do with the dentist over her lifetime. :( Being as I am with the dentist, I feel for her. I wish she could have been blessed with good strong teeth!

She was pretty depressed about having a silver tooth, worried that people would tease her. But, I think she is getting use to the idea. Plus, I told her that I was sure silver teeth under the pillow were worth a lot more then a regular one! :D

Aye, dere she be! Pirate Alysabeth and her silver tooth! ;) Argh!!

Blessings!

Turtle Races!

It was turtle race time at Awana last night! I had never seen them do these before so I was a little clueless. :) They seem kind of tedious to me (Very turtle-ish. Lol), but the kids had a blast! Daddy took these videos for me since I was in with the little Cubbies. However, I did get to come later with my group to watch a match they did just for us, and guess who won?! Alysabeth!! Yay! :) Unfortunately, that one wasn't caught on video, but she was happy knowing that we all got to see it!

So, a younger group of Sparkies went first. Here is Nathan's race! :) One little guy got a tad frustrated with the progress (not sure I would have made it either. Haha).

And then the older kids! This one went a little smoother. Here is Alysabeth! :)

So, needless to say they had fun.

Katie, in Cubbies, colored pictures and practiced singing on stage with her group, then got to watch the T & T kids do a car race before we headed to the turtle races. So, she wasn't left out! :)

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Now this morning... Dear little Katie woke up and her first words to me were, "Mommy, I don't want to die." And I told her that I didn't want her to die either. Then she said, "I want to be safe." Again I agreed with her. Then, "Mom, can you keep Jade away from me?" Turns out she had a bad dream and our cat, Jade, has been paying for it ever since. She turned to face her quickly and said, "Jade don't you ever kill me again!" Oh, kids are sooo funny sometimes. Haha!

Blessings!

April Showers...

Well, we officially had our first severe weather of Spring 2011. In fact a weekend of it. Thankfully, we had no damage here, though, I heard 10 tornadoes touched down during the worst of it Sunday afternoon. With the storm came a cold front and we will be looking at a rain/snow mix for this coming weekend. So last night after spending a day with the Meyer kids we headed outside to the "park" in our backyard. With the rain promised us today and the rest of the nasty weather coming up we figured it might be our best chance in the next few days.

I needed some new pics so I took the opportunity. Hope you like them! :)

 

And lastly, our blooming trees! So, even though we have snow coming, spring IS here!

God Bless!!

Falling Snow and Movie Nights...

Well, snow fell again today here in Wisconsin. Hard to believe, I know. But it did. Thankfully, not much, and the weather man did promise a warm weekend. So, instead of grumbling about it we chose to enjoy it. Though I don't like driving in it I do love the sight of falling snow. There is something magical about it; white fluffy pieces that float in the air. But yet, with just a slight change in state, the same would be become heavy and plunge to the ground. Or at the opposite extreme, dissipate and become invisible. God is amazing!

The kids have been doing great this past week. Katie has done some coughing but not much and for the most part they all are healthy.

Alysabeth has made some progress with her reading. We have tried a different approach and though we are still working on reading we are trying to make it more Beth friendly and less demanding. On her own she is starting to try and read books and has found that with just a little effort she can get through Garfield comics. Thank God for Garfield! It has really motivated her to read! Yay! Who would have known?

Tonight was movie night for our house. Daddy bought the newest cartoon (Guardians of Ga'hoole) to add to our overly excessive collection. We all snuggled down with blankets. Daddy popped some popcorn, and handed out some candy hearts and we started it up. It was an excellent movie and I am glad I forced myself to watch it instead of continuing to read 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. Yes, I admit, I usually bring a book to movie night. Well, we all made it through, except for Katie who ended the movie curled up and fast asleep on one end of the couch.  I think that makes for a successful night, right? :)

Well, goodnight from Wisconsin!